Of Demons and Dragons
by NightElfCrawler
Summary: Trip down Memory Lane. An archived story I'm bringing back. A co-written story with a cherished partner who passed away, posted in memory of her unfinished.
1. Prologue

**Of Demons and Dragons**

**Prologue**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Violence, language, mature themes and torture_

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

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><p><em><em>This fic is dedicated to a dear friend who made an impact on my life by helping me write this. Sadly, she passed away mid-write which is why this fic was never finished. As tribute to her, I've posted it here unfinished for your enjoyment.<em>_

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><p>"Please, take this with you!" The young shopkeeper handed a carved ribbed pot with beautiful violet and blue flowers painted on it to the couple across the counter. They accepted it with thanks, and exited the shop. "Come again!" She piped up merrily before turning to another couple.<p>

"Ano, would it be possible to have a pot like that one... only with black as the background and pink with gold lining for the flowers? I don't know if you special order..."

"Of course I can! Xel! You hear that?" She shouted back around her back.

A purple head stuck out of the doorway behind her. "Yep! Coming right up." And it disappeared.

"He'll make one for you now." She smiled pleasantly to the couple.

"Really?" the woman exclaimed. "Right now? Won't it take a while?"

"No, he's a real genius when it comes to this, it frankly surprised me.." She trailed off to pick up a child who was tugging her skirt for attention. "What're you doing out here Val, thought I told you to stay in the playroom." He just gurgled in return.

"Wow, your husband must truly have skill!"

She turned bright red. "Ano.. he's not my husband..."

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" The woman blushed. "I thought you two..."

"Well... No, we're not..." She murmured rather embarrassed. "Just good friends..."

The couple apologized, when the so mentioned person arrived from the back room wielding a fully furnished and painted pot shining with glaze newly laid. "Here you go!" He put the pot on the counter and smiled,  
>wiping a hand up to clear the sweat from his forehead, leaving a smudge of clay there. "Is this about what you were thinking?"<p>

They exclaimed in astonishment at the pot. "My goodness! So fast..." The woman touched it as if it wasn't real. "It's far better than I imagined!" Her eyes glimmered up at the two. "You are truly the best potters in town by far."

They smiled in return at the praise, thanking them politely as the couple left. The man sighed and wiped his brow now that their crowd had died down a bit, though several customers still were browsing. "What a day, eh Filia-san?"

She nodded, and put the one year old kid on the counter while he clapped his hands happily. "Busier than usual, wouldn't you say?"

"Most likely." He glanced around then sighed. "Well, I suppose I should get back to finishing up that china set..." He yawned. "This is rather tedious..."

She chuckled and elbowed him. "You're just not used to working."

He threw her a smirking glance. "Yeah, that too." And with that disappeared back into the back room once again.

She shook her head lightly and chuckled at him. How different he was now... Considering that two months ago, they'd been at each other's throats... She smiled fondly. Ironic how things were now... She tickled Val's stomach idly watching the shop as the door tingled and more customers came in. It was really ironic though, really, how much different Xelloss was now, compared to what he had been. Amazing what some things will do to a person... She glanced up at the arrival of some customers to the counter, finely dressed. She was too tired to really do much more than smile brightly and nod to them. "Welcome, can I help you?"

"We're looking for someone." Came the cold voice from the three individuals before her, making her eyes open and watch them with slight surprise at their cold tone. It was then that she recognized that they weren't human...

"Looking for someone..." She said quietly eyeing them. "I'll help with what I can... but I'm rather new in this town I'm afraid."

Their gaze was hard on her, almost with disgust. "You're name is Filia Ul Copt, is it not?" One asked harshly. "We know much of your traitorous acts."

She stiffened in anger, but restrained it inside herself. "Well, then you know that I have nothing to do with the council." She eyed their uniforms that she recognized as that of the High Ryuzoku Council members. "So, please tell me what I can do for you."

"We're looking for the Ancient." Came the sharp retort. "Hand him over and we'll leave you in peace."

Her blood froze instantly and her grip on Val tightened protectively in a motherly reaction to her baby. Her voice shook slightly as she eyed them. "I.. don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't lie!" Snapped one individual. By now the store had become silent,  
>as all the other customers watched the goings on with worry and apprehension. They were mostly regulars, and they all favored her as being a nice person. They hated to see her being put up to a situation like this. "We know that you've been sheltering him, now where is he!"<p>

She took a step back, fear in her eyes at his tone. Just then, the purple head poked out. "It's so quiet out here... What's going..." He saw the individuals, and they all glanced at him dangerously, and he slowly came out wiping his clay covered hands and keeping a locked gaze on them. It was clear that there was severe tension between him and them, as they recognized his face. He walked next to Filia and stopped.  
>"Well, interesting visitors we have today.."<p>

"What are YOU doing here, you vile creature?" The one apparently the leader snapped out viciously. "With the traitor no less!"

A tight smile crept into his face. "That is none of your business."

"I'll be damned if it is!" he bellowed angrily, when his partner's hand came up to his shoulder and whispered something in his ear, with wide eyes. The man drew back startled, then fixed him with a piercing glare,  
>apparent surprise on his face. "You? You can't be the one...!"<p>

His narrow gaze returned theirs suspiciously. "What do you mean?" He glanced at Fillia, only to see her panicked glance and clutching Val closer to her. He turned back to them with suspicion. "And what if I am?"

All of their gazes narrowed angrily. "They you're going to come with us now.." Growled the leader. "We have orders to kill you... And any who associate with you." The gaze turned threateningly to Filia. "Especially after we discover just WHO you are!" He snarled holding a hand out as if to fire a blast of energy at the couple and the baby.

However, Xel was quick and leapt over the counter and did a roll out of the way as Filia ducked below the counter. Their opponents immediately split, one after Filia, the other two facing Xel who stood at a ready position behind them with wary eyes. All the other guests had retreated to the far wall, or had evacuated and were watching with fear and horror on their faces wondering what to do. Xel smirked. "Two against one?  
>That's hardly fair."<p>

"Shut your foul mouth!" Screamed the leader as he lunged for Xel, who nimbly dodged out of the way, only to be intercepted by the other one who brought a hand to his face and punched him hard against the wall,  
>leaving a trail of three bloody gashes on his right cheek.<p>

Xel shook his head slightly stunned, only to have his opponent thrust a hard foot into his gut, making him double over and gasp aloud in pain as the two set about hitting him as he was pinned against the wall. Fillia watched with fearful eyes as she was cornered by the other, and clutched Val to her protectively closing her eyes in fear.

But it was then that help arrived. Out of seemingly nowhere, a thick pot came crashing down on top of the man's head cornering Fillia, and she looked up to see the customers wielding weapons and headed towards the other two, while one offered her a hand. "Come on, you got to get out of here miss!" He whispered harshly ushering her towards the stairwell, as the door burst open with soldiers suddenly. She glanced back fearfully towards Xel, and the man smiled. "We'll get him out to, come on!"

Xel looked up through slightly blurred vision to see one man holding him go down on the floor after contact with a vase, and while the other was distracted, he brought his knee up into his gut, then nailed him a good one in his vulnerable area, and while he was doubled over in pain, ran up the stairs with the guidance of the others helping him.

He stumbled up the stairs still faint and dizzy, and saw Fillia waiting there worried. At his appearance, relief washed over her face. "Xel!"  
>She smiled as he panted and leaned on the railing for breath. "Your face!" she put a hand up to his wound, but he shook his head. "I'm fine,<br>we should leave now, they brought in the town reinforcements..." He looked back anxiously, hearing scuffling up the stairs and cursing.

She nodded and shoved Val into his arms. "Take him and you can escape somewhere. I'll distract them."

He nearly dropped Val as he was shoved into his arms. "What? Are you nuts?" He snatched her arm as she began to calm herself for transformation. "You'll get hurt!"

She glared at him. "They're after you and Val! Don't worry about me, I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself." And with that she began to glow,  
>and her form shifted and converged as she leapt off the balcony into the air, and a huge golden dragon sped upwards into the sky like a streak of sunlight.<p>

He muttered something as he watched her glide up into the air, despite stares and cries from the people. By now, most were aware that something was going on, and had heard the story from people who'd been there. And since they were well known in the city, most of the townsfolk were outraged at the attack. But he had no time to think of that, as they broke into the room behind him. "Great.." He muttered, and held Val protectively and leapt off of the edge of the balcony as far as he could, before huge feathered black wings exploded form his back and pumped him up into the air as fast as he could make it. He didn't dare change all the way into his true form, it would make it a far more easier target, and more bulk to manuver with. However, the guards below had seen him anyway, and were faster than he could rise up... they were firing arrows up and he tried his best to dodge them, keeping Val close to his chest as he dodged to keep him safe. But one arrow happened to hit it's target, by striking right in the muscle of his left wing. He cried out in pain, and tried to right himself and continue gliding, but it had hit a vital point, and he couldn't hold his wing upright any longer. He felt himself falling, and cursed, then turned his body so that he'd land on his back with Val being safe, even if he was injured... He closed his eyes, holding the young boy close to him and held his breath, as it was forced out of him upon landing on the ground... He gasped for his breath back, but it didn't take long. He opened his eyes to see that he'd landed in a hay wagon, and people around were offering hands looking back worriedly around him.

"Come on!" A man said helping him up and running down an alley. "This way." He opened a cellar door and several townsmen, all of whom Xel knew as customers, entered the hole. He followed, limping lightly as his ankle must have gotten caught on something, and his wing throbbing hard with pain.

He ducked down, and entered the small pit to find quite a nice cellar below. Once he was in, they closed the doors and locked it behind them,  
>piling something on top to hide it apparently.<p>

Val was crying, clutching Xel's shirt in his pudgy hands tightly, eyes squeezed shut. Xel whispered softly to him, trying to calm him despite the pounding in his chest. The others in the cellar stayed hushed among themselves, and everyone's breaths were held. They could hear footsteps and shouts of questions, and people saying that they'd gone that way.  
>The footsteps retreated and they lay in silence until they heard a hushed voice speak that they were gone, but they should stay put for safety for some time longer.<p>

Xel nodded to himself, agreeing with them, but worrying about Filia.  
>Someone took a lantern and lit it, then hung it in the center of the room, to light the area. Xel was kneeling with Val on his lap, his wings hanging limply behind him, and his cheek streaked with blood against his pale face. "You'd best stay here like he says, till they've left the city anyway.." One said quietly. "Are you ok?"<p>

Xel managed to nod faintly as Val's sniffles calmed down as the child hugged him tightly. "Yes... But.." He turned his head and tried to extend his wing a bit to get a glimpse of where he'd been hit, but gasped in pain and shuddered as it lanced up his wing.

One of the townsfolk crept next to him and lifted the lantern to get a better glimpse and whistled low. "This is a pretty serious wound..." He gently probed the wound, and Xel hissed his breath in pain. The townsfolk frowned as he examined the arrow, which was still lodged tightly in it, sticking out the other side of where it had pierced.  
>"This is a steel shaft..." He said quietly. "We don't have any saws do we?" He glanced around at the other townsfolk questioningly.<p>

"No, this is a root cellar to store food... We have plenty of food, no tools though." The owner said with regret.

Xel grit his teeth. "Then you'll have to pull it out..." He said in a low voice.

They all exchanged glances of worry. "Are you sure?" The man said putting a hand on his shoulder. "It might do worse damage..., I'll have to take it out the same direction it went in, so the fletching will have to go through..."

Xel bit his lip. "Yes... there's no other choice, if you leave it in..."  
>He stopped, and just hugged Val to him as the young one looked up with wide golden eyes.<p>

The guy sighed. "Ok... Then I'll do it on three, k?" Xel nodded, and closed his eyes, taking deep breaths, and clenching his fists tightly together to dull the pain that would come. "K... one...two..."

And on three, he gripped the arrow tightly and pulled fast and hard, and Xelloss arched his back in pain and stifled a scream as the arrow came out. He felt nauseous and weak and everything around him was fuzzing and flashing brightly. He could hear voices and feel hands on his shoulders supporting him, and voices speaking for him to lie down. He did so,  
>finding something soft beneath his head as he fought the waves of agony...<p>

After several minutes had passed, his head was clearing a bit, though his face was still pale and he felt weak, and he opened his eyes to see Val curled up beside him sucking his thumb, and the others waiting for him to come around. "You ok?" A concerned voice asked, and he managed to nod a bit, trying to sit up, but someone pushed him back down. "Keep down. We're bandaging it, and you should rest. You've lost a lot of blood."

He nodded in faint agreement, and sighed quietly, then someone came and knelt by him with some cloths and water and began dabbing at his cut face. "Just stay still..." She commanded as she began bandaging his face. He smiled in gratitude and lay there recovering a bit while he was tended to.

By the time they were done, he was feeling a bit better, and managed to open his eyes and roll over onto his back, favoring his injured wing, so he could look at them. "Thank you.." He said quietly. "I can't convey my gratitude enough."

The owner of the cellar smiled and shook his head. "It's ok, I heard what was going on, and though I don't know what all of it means.." His gaze strayed to Xel's wings, "I refuse to let honest people who haven't done anything wrong be attacked the way you have."

Xel smiled in gratitude and glanced down as Val snuggled tighter against him. "I appreciate your kindness... You didn't have to risk your own lives for us.."

"It's nothing." Another insisted. "We're glad to help."

"But, could you answer some questions? I mean, if you're feeling well enough..."

He tried to sit halfway up, and someone pushed him down again. He sighed with resignation. "Yes, of course. What do you want to know?"

They were silent for a while, then finally someone posed a question.  
>"Why were they after you? The way it sounded, they wanted to kill you."<p>

He nodded slightly. "Yes. They did." He put a hand on Val's head, and the boy sighed and snatched his hand and began sucking on a finger.  
>"They were after me and him..."<p>

"Why?" A girl asked baffled. "You're nice people!"

He sighed. "Yes... but there are many complications." He saw some of them gaze at his wings and he nodded and closed his eyes, then opened them again. "Yes, we're not human, that much you've assumed, I'll wager."

They nodded slightly. "What are you then?"

"An ancient dragon." He said calmly.

"A dragon!" Some exclaimed. "But... I thought that they were big dumb beasts..."

He smiled faintly. "Well, there are some that are that. But there are also intelligent ones. Namely, ancient, black, and gold dragons."

"But you don't look like a dragon. I mean, except for the wings... but even then..."

He nodded. "Ancients are a bit different than the others. Blacks and Golds are more of what you'd expect..." A worried thought flicked across his mind. "did you happen to catch a glimpse of Filia-san?"

They glanced at each other, then shook their heads. "No..."

"Wait!" One kid said crawling forward. "Was she a dragon too? That big one that went up into the sky! It was all shiny!"

He nodded, making himself a bit dizzy at the effort. "Yes, that was her... did you see if she was all right?"

The boy shook his head. "No, I just saw a glimpse of it..er.. her..."

He sighed. "Sou ka..."

"I'm sure she'll be fine... they were on foot after all." Someone gently soothed.

He sighed. "That's the problem... The ones who attacked us were gold dragons sent from the council..."

They blinked. "A council? Why were they after you?"

He looked up at them, seeing their curios and blank looks. "It's a long feud... Long ago the Golds wiped out all the ancients. They hate us with a passion..."

The horror on their faces was evident. "Why?" Said one shocked.  
>"They're still trying to kill ancients?"<p>

"Yes... but then, there's only two of us left..." His hand lit on Val's head and he closed his eyes. "We two are the last of our kind."

They gasped softly, shock on their faces, followed by pity which washed over it like rainfall. "Oh... That's horrible..." a woman gasped. "Why would they do such a thing?"

"As I said, ancient blood feuds."

"They seemed surprised though that you were who they were looking for..." Pointed one out who'd been in the store. "It was like they knew you."

He chuckled quietly. "Yes, they did, but not as they expected." There were curious glances. "You may not want to know the details of that..."  
>He said quietly. "It would make you upset at me, and probably angry."<p>

They shook their heads negatively. "We promise not to hold you accountable." An elder said. "We know nothing of this, and I as a historian want to know the truth of the matter."

Xel opened his violet eyes and looked at the group. "It's a long story... Filled with history and gruesome details..."

"Well, we have time. Why not tell us."

He looked worriedly at the group, but seeing their gazes evenly back at him, he sighed and nodded. "Very well then... I'll start at the beginning..."


	2. Chapter 1

**Of Demons and Dragons**

**Chapter One: Downfall of Glory**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Violence, language, mature themes and torture_

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

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><p><em><em>This fic is dedicated to a dear friend who made an impact on my life by helping me write this. Sadly, she passed away mid-write which is why this fic was never finished. As tribute to her, I've posted it here unfinished for your enjoyment.<em>_

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><p>Since the dawn of creation, the ryuzoku and mazoku have been at each other's throats. That's just the way of things. Good versus evil, and what not. But inside the ryuzoku, there are also feuds. The first ryuzoku to emerge were the ancient dragons, filled with the new hope and power of the positive side. They were different than dragons today, what you think of as dragons, and had raw power unlike that of any other groups.<br>Then from there, emerged the two other major intelligent groups, the blacks and the golds. There were the less intelligent creatures, orange,  
>red, green, brown, blue, water, earth and other elemental dragons who didn't posses as much magic or intelligence.<p>

So why did the others hate the Ancients? Maybe we'll never know the truth. There have been theories set forth by those who know the story,  
>but since few know anyway, few have speculated on the reason. The only thing that I can tell you is this. We were brutally murdered with no chance to fight back. It was a genocide. Complete and utter genocide,<br>and we were the victims. And the irony of the matter? It had been the most beautiful and sunny day of my life...

"Hey, don't pester your brother." Came the strict voice of a mother scolding.

"But moooooommmm"

"Don't 'but mooom' me. Go do your chores."

The young ryuzoku scowled at her brother seated across from her and slunk out of her chair to go attend to her duties. Before she vanished though, she stuck her tongue out at him in spite. He just smiled back at her innocently.

"And don't you entice her." The woman scowled at him. "You're bad enough as it is."

He chuckled. "Yes mother..." He stood up and brushed himself off. "I have to go now..."

She nodded. "Take care dear." She suddenly glanced up with a familiar glint characteristic of their family at him. "Is today the day?"

He smiled wider than he was currently. "Yes'm."

She smiled. "Good luck... I know it'll turn out right."

He nodded and dashed outside, spreading his wings and jumping into the air, above the sparkling blue ocean that spread beneath him like a sapphire brightly polished.

He soared up into the air and looked around, then spotted his goal, and soared down to the small tree above a cliff high above the village,  
>where a single person sat, waiting patiently for someone...<p>

He landed right before her and shifted into a more suitable form, half human to match hers, his silk robe fluttering lightly in the wind as they stood atop the cliff. He then did a gentile bow before her, while she giggled lightly, and produced a bouquet for her out of seemingly no where. "My dearest who makes the sun pale to her beauty..." He kissed her hand gently, watching her golden hair mix with her wings as she watched him with flushed cheeks. "I would ask you to become my mate..."

Her face turned bright red with glee, and she flung herself at him,  
>embracing him tightly to her. "Itoshii... You know the answer..."<p>

He smiled as they kissed there, their feathers ruffling together as they kissed there, the sweet flower petals escaping from the bouquet as she held it loosely against his back. The happiness and wonder of such bliss was in their eyes as they stared deeply into each other's eyes, their emotions mingling. They stood there, gazing into each other's eyes and sharing in what they knew was bliss, before they sat down on the ground in each other's arms and watched the birds and the clouds peacefully as they just enjoyed the day.

But... After they had lain there for a while, they saw a line of specks approaching from the north. At first they thought nothing of it,  
>believing it to be merely clouds or something, but as the line grew closer, he sat up slightly on his elbows, a slight frown on his forehead as his long purple hair whipped around.<p>

"What is it?" Murmured his young girl. "A storm?"

"No... it's coming far to fast for that.." He replied quietly, watching it with piercing eyes. "I don't know... It almost looks like a bunch of dragons..."

She sat up as well and they both watched as the line grew closer... And closer... and closer... until they could see that, yes, it was indeed dragons... "My god... there's a lot of them... All golds, ne?" She whispered in awe. Usually the golds and blacks stayed north of them,  
>there was old feuds between the races. So they'd never seen one in person... But now, the line grew and grew, and became obvious that it was more than just a group... It was an army.<p>

"My god... there's a lot of them..." He echoed his fiancee's words.  
>"And looks like they're armed... where do you suppose they're going?"<p>

"I don't know..." She said, worry beginning to creep into her voice.  
>"It almost looks like they're headed here..." She began to tremble.<p>

He wrapped his arms around her tightly. "It's ok... come on..." He led her to beneath the tree, and they crouched there in it's shade, watching as the dragons slowly began to skim over them, hundreds and hundreds of them, zooming low, and swooping over the cliff into the valley below,  
>with spears, swords, staffs, and armor on them, they looked very angry...<p>

The lovers stayed put until all the dragons were past, then glanced uncertainly at each other. "What now?" She whispered. He shook his head,  
>then stood up and took her hand. The two made their way slowly to the cliffside, and gazed down into the valley.<p>

It would have been better if they'd not.

Her breath caught, and his hands tightened on her quickly to keep her from screaming out loud, while his mouth opened as well, and the color drained from both of their faces. Below them, was absolute havoc...  
>houses were burning... Bodies lay everywhere... blood covered the green landscape like paint... screams, wails, and sounds of fighting came to their ears as the two stood watching the slaughter below them...<p>

She fell to her knees with a stifled gasp, and knelt there with tears streaming down her cheeks, and spilling onto the ground in fat wet drops. He stood rooted to his spot, eyes glazed over in shock as he watched the horrid sight, almost as if he couldn't tear his eyes away from it. Tears stung his eyes, and threatened to spill down, but he felt as if there was a deepness that had dried all the tears up, an emptiness...

Death... everywhere, devastating murder and genocide remained where life had flourished just moments before. It was as if something had scooped life out of the valley, squished it in a hand, and then dropped what was left...

"No...no...no..." She was sobbing over and over again in misery.  
>"...no...no...no...no..."<p>

He stood there speechless for a long time, then suddenly was brought aware of some movement, and turned about to see her flying off. "Matte!"  
>He cried taking a step forward, then halting as he saw something swoop down from the clouds like a streak of lightning, and hit her in midair...<p>

"NOOO!" He screamed, feeling everything that he was suddenly fracture into shards of nothingness. His eyes were locked on the falling body stained crimson with her blood... Falling... Falling... an inner rage began to rupture around him even as the gold turned around to take him down. His energy surged around him, and his eyes lit up with the fury and hatred of one who's just lost everything worth living...  
>He brought his hands up and like a possessed creature, the energy rippled out from him and engulfed the gold with it's intense depths and reduced it to a single drift of glittering golden dust that quickly scattered on the breeze.<p>

Drip...

Drip...

Drip...

Three crystalline tears dripped onto the ground in twinkling glimmers against the sapphire sea... One for his people... One for his love... And one for himself...

Of course, such attention and violence had been brought to the attention of the mazoku as well. One in particular, who was bored that day,  
>teleported to watch the carnage, taking long drags on her cigarette, and lounging in a tree comfortably. If things worked out well, then the ryuzoku might wipe themselves out with little help from the mazoku. A gleeful smile lit her face and she closed her eyes in listening to the screams and destruction. How blissful it was...<p>

Then a scream came to her attention, and she glanced aside to see not far away on a cliff someone falling from a gold's wrath, and another figure on the cliff. She turned her head, however, when she saw an enormous buildup of energy from the figure, which was then discharged at the gold and disintegrated it quicker than it could scream. She blinked in astonishment. Oh yes, this one had potential... She watched as the figure's aura faded, and then it fell to it's knees and bowed it's head in obvious grief. She smiled quietly, glancing to the figure lying on the ground bloody and broken. Must have been a loved one, she thought.  
>Pity. She then stood up and teleported to stand behind the boy, and watched him cry there on the ground. After an extended period of time,<br>in which he sobbed continually, staring at the destruction, then stood up and faced it on the windy cliff. He then soared downwards toward the town, since all the golds had abandoned it, and all that was left was smoldering timbers and scattered bodies. She watched him from the shadows as he walked among the rubble, a cold blank expression on his face. He stopped from time to time to kneel by his murdered kin, and say something softly, then move on almost methodically. She could feel the anger radiating from him in uncontrollable waves as he knelt by friends and relatives all slain. After he'd walked through most of the village,  
>he stood in the center of the wreckage and seemed at a loss for what to do then. Undecided and frightened, he sat down by a smashed fountain and stared at his hands, a blank expression on his face. She smiled at his smoldering anger and hatred, though it was tightly locked up inside of him. He was definitely worth investigating.<p>

She then strode forward, her high spiked heels crunching over smashed items and avoiding bodies as she headed towards him with a calm,  
>seductive walk. He looked up, his eyes lost and frightened, and suspicion crossed his face upon seeing her, but not for the reason that most would. She stopped before him, taking a long drag on her cigarette before speaking. "You hate them for this, don't you." It was a statement, not a question.<p>

He looked at her, and she could feel the intense hatred from him increase. She didn't need an answer, but he spoke anyway in a dull voice. "Yes."

She nodded and tapped some ash off her cigarette and eyed him carefully.  
>"Do you want revenge? To make them suffer for what they've done to your people?"<p>

He looked up into her eyes, and she could see him pondering it carefully. He knew what she was obviously, and she smiled at the promise that she felt from him. He seemed to ponder that deeply, and then his eyes looked up with a fire that made her smile widely. "What do I have to do?"

She smiled and walked towards him and lifted his chin up with a dazzling enrapturing smile. She then leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in a sweet lilac scented kiss, and pressed a small silver dagger into his hands. He gripped it in both hands as she continued to kiss him, and knew what he had to do, and promptly did it, burying the dagger deep inside of his heart without a second glance... She smiled as the bright red blood flowed out of him and his face began to pale, then he lost the ability to return the kiss, and she smiled and drew him to her.  
>"Now, you are mine...Xelloss."<p> 


	3. Chapter 2

**Of Demons and Dragons**

**Chapter Two: Creation of the Trickster**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Violence, language, mature themes and torture_

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p><em><em>This fic is dedicated to a dear friend who made an impact on my life by helping me write this. Sadly, she passed away mid-write which is why this fic was never finished. As tribute to her, I've posted it here unfinished for your enjoyment.<em>_

* * *

><p>Cold... He felt so cold...empty, lost and frightened. He drifted alone in a void of blackness, voices of his kin crying out in pain as they died before him, and he could do nothing. He tried to pull away from the bright light that flickered at him tauntingly, knowing that it's golden depths were deadly. But it tried to get him, and he screamed thrashing and lashing out, and suddenly he felt something grip onto him and pull him out...<p>

His eyes opened slowly, and he blinked as the bleary ceiling began to come into focus above him. He was lying in a very richly furnished bed,  
>lined with satin sheets and soft down pillows and mattress. He blinked in slight confusion as he sat up, and then looked around the rich room confused. The memories of the past were fading... They seemed so far away... Like a bad dream. All he had to was forget... He shook his head and looked around. The room he was in was richly furnished and filled with luxurious items. It was a theme of deep blood red, and purple. The carpet was blood red velvet, and mahogany wood was the theme in the tables and woodworks, his bed included. Light gauzy curtains of black hung in the window and blew lightly as a light warm breeze wafted through the open balcony and brushed some light bells against each other in the doorway. He glanced about the room, then down at himself putting a hand to his bare chest. Hadn't he been hurt? He seemed to remember vaguely something... He put a hand up brushing his now short hair back, wondering why it seemed so short to him now... It was only chin length... Ah well, details details.<p>

He was about to get up, when the door opened, and a tall slender very beautiful woman walked in waltzing calmly, followed by a very large gray wolf... She smiled upon seeing him awake, and walked to his bedside and sat on the edge. "You look better, how are you feeling now my dear?"

He couldn't take his eyes off of her... She struck something inside of him that just wanted to worship her... She was stunningly beautiful,  
>but that wasn't all of it... Her light lavender hair tumbled down on her young frame, and golden eyes that were slit like a serpents, but just as mesmerizing. She leaned forward till they were practically nose to nose, a secret smile playing on her lips. "How's my little Xelloss?"<p>

He couldn't rip his eyes from hers, and smiled back as he felt her warmth of being so close comfort him. "Much...better Mistress..." for some reason, he didn't know why, but it felt natural for him to say that to her.

"Good!" she piped and kissed him lightly on the nose. "Wouldn't want my new child to start off on a bad note!" She jumped off the bed and stroked the wolf's head then looked up at him with a serene smile. "Come now, can't lay in bed all day."

He instantly shoved the covers aside, not caring what he wore beneath,  
>it seemed not to matter in her presence anyway. He bowed before her,<br>again because it felt natural, and she touched his head. "Yes, you'll be a very good asset." She smiled and turned. "Come, we'll find a new wardrobe for you." And she led him across the room to where there was a large closet and she began rummaging around there humming something. He stood behind her, watching, and stroked the wolf who was sniffing him and wagging it's tail. After some moments, she pulled out a plain black outfit. "this'll have to do for now. We'll find you something more...  
>flattering after we go through some training." He followed her as she laid the outfit down on the bed. "Now get dressed and we'll begin shall we?" She smiled and winked at him. "Come downstairs when you're dressed,<br>Shadow will lead you." And she turned and left him alone with the wolf.

He dressed as ordered, and when he'd finished, he took a comb to his hair and ran it through it, then turned to the mirror to admire his new reflection. His hair was chin length, and he had short bangs that went to his eyebrows, where beneath a pair of mesmerizing slit eyes, the same color as his old ones, glanced back at him. For some reason, he found himself smiling...

He turned and followed the wolf then, taking in the luxurious surroundings that passed him by as he followed it. Mistress sure liked to live the rich life. He smiled as he passed by several huge paintings of individuals who looked high and powerful... They awed him, but he felt that they were on the same level as Mistress. He smiled and turned the corner, finding himself in a large room with sitting couches, and Mistress reclined on one, speaking with another individual who looked young and beautiful as well, her long blue hair cascading like water over her shoulders.

"Ah, there you are Xelloss." Mistress said with a smile and rising to a sitting position. "Come, join us." She waited until he sat down in a chair, then gestured to the woman. "This is our neighbor dearie, Kai-ou."

He inclined his head in deep respect, and she nodded back at him. "He looks promising Zelas, but are you sure? An ancient dragon? I mean really, that's only SLIGHTLY oxymoronic in nature."

Zelas shrugged. "True, but the amount of power and emotions are enough to fuel an army for years." She grinned. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

Kai-ou shrugged. "If you say so." She stood. "Well, it's been a blast,  
>but I do have a sea to run. If you'll excuse me." She vanished then where she stood.<p>

Zelas stood up and clapped her hands together. "Well then! Shall we begin out training? I have caught a wonderful specimen to experiment on!" She smiled cruelly, and his smile slowly extended to match hers in glee...

* * *

><p>"Xelloss!" Came a voice in his mind.<p>

He instantly teleported to his mistress and knelt before her, one hand clenched over his chest in respect as he kept his head low. "My lady."  
>He said calmly.<p>

"My boy, the time has come for you to prove yourself and test your abilities." She said calmly as she stood before him with her arms behind her back. "I have a mission for you."

"Of course Master, anything you wish." He said firmly with validity behind his words.

"Good boy. You know the site of the war, correct?"

"Yes my lady."

"Go there to the outcrop, there is someone waiting for you who will give you instructions."

He stood up and bowed, his cloak flourishing out dramatically behind him as he smirked up at her. "Gladly my lady." Came the thrilled reply before he vanished from sight.

She chuckled. "So impatient to kill the ones who murdered your kind my boy... Tsk tsk, such youthful and reckless actions." But a smile was lit on her face as she sipped her wine with a smirk.

Xelloss appeared as he'd been ordered, and stood atop the outcrop overlooking the battle area. There indeed stood one who he was apparently to speak with, tall and holding a staff not unlike his own.  
>He approached and the figure put a hand up for him to approach and stand by his side. He did so, and the man nodded out at the chaos, speaking with a deep voice. "Quite a sight, is it not." It wasn't a question, and the tone of voice he spoke in demanded that no answer be returned. "Ah,<br>this is what we live off of, is that right? Chaos, disorder, fear,  
>hatred, anger, violence... they all feed us."<p>

Xelloss nodded as he watched the dragons battling against the demons.  
>"Yes, it's a beautiful sight m'lord."<p>

The tall man chuckled. "Yes yes... Are you thrilled my boy? To go out into the fray and destroy those who destroyed you?"

The words brought up a hidden glee from inside of him that began to bubble and seethe out, and the man could sense it, and smiled as Xelloss spoke. "Yes my lord, I long to hear their screams."

He smiled coldly. "Don't be so impatient boy. You're young still, you have much to learn." He pointed. "Here is what you're to do. Go down and let some dragons come at you, then eliminate them." He turned his gaze to Xelloss who was looking eager. "If you succeed, I may reward you."

Xelloss bowed. "Yes my lord, of course." He instantly vanished, and teleported down to the center of the battle where a group of dragons were readying to take off and attack. The moment that he arrived, they sense him, and whirled around and faced him with sharp gazes, then took off in shrieks of anger. He smiled calmly watching how they flew in the air, how their golden scales glittered in the light and sent sparkles of light scattering into the morning sun. He grinned darker. Beautiful...  
>just like back then... He waited still, and then when they were close enough that he could see the emotions, the hatred, the anger in their eyes, he raised a hand and pointed at them with an obnoxious smile on his face. Then, one by one as he pointed in a straight line from one end of them to the other, they exploded as their astral forms were attacked and disintegrated upon one simple motion from him. All other actions around him seemed to stop as those fighting turned to stare. The mazoku cheered, the ryuzoku stared in horror and trembled, then turned angry.<br>He merely smiled, savoring the look on the dragons' faces the split second before they realized what was about to happen to each of them.  
>What delight...<p>

He heard something from behind him then, and turned slightly to see a young mazoku with his arms crossed over his chest, looking at him appraisingly, but not with any love... in fact he saw burning hatred there. "You." He said simply, his cyan hair whipping around his face,  
>and the simple horn on his head. "Tell me your name." His voice was plain and no nonsense, sharp and commanding.<p>

Xelloss bowed eloquently and smiled before his fellow mazoku, young and still naive to the dangers even among his own. "Xelloss Metallium, at your service."

"Good." Came the growling voice just as he began to lift his head only to find him gone, and standing behind him. "Now I know the name of the bastard who took my revenge away!" And instantly Xelloss felt filled with pain beyond any measure as the man blasted some strong power of astral focus at him, and it engulfed his form and he let out his scream of agony as he faded away before his entire form could be consumed.

The figure left behind smiled with a tight smirk. "This won't be our first meeting...Xelloss..." He closed his eyes and gripped his fist to his chest with anger and smirked to himself in pleasure at injuring the one who'd taken his lifelong search and smashed it. "I'll make you pay dearly."


	4. Chapter 3

**Of Demons and Dragons**

**Chapter Three: Revelations and Rewards**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Violence, language, mature themes and torture_

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p><em><em>This fic is dedicated to a dear friend who made an impact on my life by helping me write this. Sadly, she passed away mid-write which is why this fic was never finished. As tribute to her, I've posted it here unfinished for your enjoyment.<em>_

* * *

><p>Pain... Not enjoyable pain either... pain that was excruciating and almost intolerable. Pain that filtered through the every essence of his soul and ripped it apart. He held back the screams that threatened to shake out of him, tears of agony, if he could cry in his astral form,<br>would be streaming out of his eyes. As it was, he wished to be dead due to his carelessness and the suffering he was being put through as a result.

Of course, Zelas wasn't about to leave her prime servant there, so she quickly teleported to the astral plane, and sighed at the amount of damage that he'd sustained. "Baka..." She sighed, and set about healing him and taking her good time at it to teach him a lesson not to be careless again. "Never trust anyone. Never. No matter who they are, you should put no trust in them, well other than me, but that's different."  
>His presence indicated he understood, and she shook her head. "I should have warned you, but we didn't even know for sure at the time. It appears that Gaav has defected and become a traitor. But we weren't sure. Now that you've been attacked by one of his prime minions, we can be sure. Lei has something he wants to talk to you about later after you're better."<p>

She continued healing in silence, thinking to herself about events and how she might handle things. She knew why he'd been attacked by this particular servant, but apparently neither he nor Valgarv knew the truth hidden underneath that she knew. How ironic things could be...

She sighed and continued her healing for hours and days on end, until he was reasonably healed to survive without her help. She transported them both out of the astral plane, and saw to it that he was lying in bed for resting and internal healing, before going out and plopping on her couch to do some catching up on her wine, cigarettes, and thinking.

After a bit, she felt a strong presence, and glanced up to see the tall gentleman standing there. "Ah, Lei, sit down." She gestured. "He's resting."

Lei nodded. "He is something, that's for sure, despite how impetuous he is..."

She grinned. "Yeah, that's why I like him. But he'll learn in a few hundred years, give him time."

Lei chuckled and strode down the hall. "I promised him a reward if he succeeded, which he did." He opened Xelloss' door and stepped in calmly,  
>then approached the bedside to see the pale priest looking up at him.<br>"You succeeded in your task, I commend you Xelloss." He said solemnly inclining his head towards the priest. "I believe Zelas also is impressed in your behavior, since she's upgraded you to her Priest from just a minion." There was a smug look of glee from Xelloss at that that made Lei Magnus smile. "And as promised, I also have a reward for you."  
>He reached into his robe and took out four ruby red stoned on silver talismans. "These are very powerful trinkets to which I give you Xelloss." He put them on the night stand. "They're called Demon's Blood stones, and there are four of them just as there are four dark lords in the universe beneath L-sama. Death Fog, Ruby Eye, Dark Star, and Chaotic Blue. They draw power from all four Dark Lords, and are unique." He gazed down at the priest who looked slightly taken aback by the huge gift. "I give them to you because I can forsee something happening in the future to myself, and you will need them to battle with the enemy."<p>

Xelloss kept a locked gaze on the mazoku priest, and nodded slowly in reverence. "I am honored.." He managed to choke out weakly, and Lei smiled and patted him lightly on the head, then he turned and left,  
>leaving the amulets on the bed stand beside him. "I will do what's right..." Xelloss whispered quietly.<p>

And from that point forward, he did...


	5. Chapter 4

**Of Demons and Dragons**

**Chapter Four: Unwelcome Visitor**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Violence, language, mature themes and torture_

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p><em><em>This fic is dedicated to a dear friend who made an impact on my life by helping me write this. Sadly, she passed away mid-write which is why this fic was never finished. As tribute to her, I've posted it here unfinished for your enjoyment.<em>_

* * *

><p>"Come in, please look around!" Filia chirped as the door's bell rang indicating yet another customer entering the store. Today was certainly busy, as usual, but more so due to the street festival. She was busy polishing a vase and applying glaze to it, so she didn't look up to see who'd entered the shop quiet yet.<p>

It had been about a year since the 'adventures' so to speak had ended,  
>and her shop was doing quite well on it's own. The people apparently loved her pottery skills, and there was always the need for cooking ware as well, so she had regulars come in all the time, even just to chat.<br>Baby Val was growing quite well now, getting into mischief like a normal child would, and seeming to be happy with her. She often wondered how odd it seemed that he was constantly in human form, and never showing his magic, but then she thought twice and realized it made sense after all, since he wasn't dependent on it, nor fully ryuzoku anyway.

She was almost finished polishing the vase, when she realized that it was actually quite quiet in the shop, and she could hear Val burbling upstairs in loud laughter. She looked up the stairs curiously, wondering what was drawing his attention so much, and sighed wiping her hands. She put the rag and pot down, and walked up the stairs slowly, wondering if it was always going to be so difficult to care for a baby. She shook her head, and reached the top of the stairs, and glanced up... only to freeze with a disgusted look on her face. "You! Namagomi, what are you doing with him!" She hissed dangerously upon seeing her purple haired guest holding baby Val in his arms and poking his pudgy tummy.

"Entertaining him of course! What does it look like, dear Filia-san?"  
>Came the innocent reply as the gloved hands wiggled in front of Val, and he gurgled and latched onto them with his hands. "It surely can't hurt to give the little fellow some attention."<p>

She growled with dangerous eyes at him. "You're not welcome here. Leave now."

He turned his head and cocked it innocently to the side. "Now now, don't be like that Filia-san. I have my responsibilities to the little twerp just as you do, so you can hardly tell me what I can and can't do."

She grit her teeth in rage at his aloof behavior. "And you can't just appear out of nowhere and expect to be given the royal treatment." She snapped her nerves grating, and her tail sticking straight up behind her in anger. "I ask you again politely to leave."

He turned his head towards her, and his eyes opened slightly, showing their glittering amethyst depths. "Or what? You'll introduce me once again to mace-sama?" He smiled cruelly. "Calm down Filia-san, I am not going to do any harm this time."

She wanted to scream aloud, but forced herself to cool down. He usually told the truth, just not the whole truth, so if he said that he wouldn't' do any harm this time, then she could at least try and get him out civilly. "Fine, Namagomi." She snorted turning around and stalking back downstairs. "Have it your way."

His eyebrow twitched once again at that use of a name for him, but he didn't let it get to him, and tickled Val a bit, then followed her downstairs, much to her dismay. "So how's business Filia-san? Busy I take it?" He smiled endlessly and examined some pots while Val sucked on his hair. "You seem to have been doing quite well."

She bristled, but went back to her pot as calmly as she could muster.  
>"Yes, I've been doing quite well, making a decent living unlike SOME people I know."<p>

He didn't seem to hear or acknowledge that hidden threat, and just bounced Val up and down on his hip while other customers watched the exchanged with slightly uncertain looks. "Hmm, that's nice."

She grit her teeth. He was so blas about everything! #$# Namagomi...  
>She nearly paled at the realization that she was beginning to adopt dirty language, and snarled at him, blaming him for it yet again. "So what do I owe the honor / of this visit?" She bit out wryly.

He just turned about with that irritating smile and tossed Val up and down as the child squealed in glee. "Well, isn't' it enough to just say that I wanted to pay you a visit?"

"I know you too well Xelloss." She hissed. "You filthy mazoku don't visit anyone just for the fun of it."

At the mention of mazoku, some of the customers were staring at the tall man with wide eyes. He didn't look like a demon... And didn't act like one...

Xelloss pouted. "Now don't be that way Filia-chan..."

"Don't you 'Filia-chan' me Namagomi!" She barked back. "If you're really just here to visit, then you've overstayed your welcome, so good bye and have a nice day!" She snapped, yanking Val from his arms and stalking back to the counter.

He stood there watching her silently, his arms folded behind him, who knows where his staff was, looking thoughtful. Then he walked up to her and leaned on the counter, much to her annoyance as she shot him an angry glare. "You know, you really have a very attractive quality when you're angry at me."

That got her to freeze in shock. She felt as if someone had hit HER with her mace. She slowly turned to look at him, and saw slightly open eyes staring at her glittering beneath their lids. The other customers were smiling amidst themselves knowingly. She stuttered back to life.  
>"W...what the hell are you saying Namagomi!" She snapped taking a step away from him. "Leave now! I'll call the authorities on you if you don't!" Her panic was evident.<p>

He sighed. "Yare yare, can't have that now can I..." He stood up and shrugged closing his eyes again. "They might do something /Aweful / to me..." He turned and strode to the door, his staff appearing randomly,  
>and he glanced back once before pushing the door open. "Oh, Filia-chan.<br>I meant that." And with that statement, he left and vanished into nothingness.

Filia was simply left sputtering in anger, steam coming off of her head,  
>while thoughts churned around in her mind confused.<p>

It was after hours, and Filia was preparing the usual lonely dinner for her and Val, still thinking about what Xelloss had said upon his unwelcome appearance today. She lit the decorative candles halfheartedly and sighed as she set the table. What game was he playing this time? Why would he say such a thing? She sighed and served herself some dinner,  
>then placed Val's before him, and started feeding him. Why would the Namagomi say something like that, and mean it? Why?<p>

She sighed and continued feeding Val as he burbled happily, and never noticed the small draft coming from the door making the candles flicker more. However, she did notice when someone stepped into her line of sight, and stopped. Her head jerked up in shock to see Xelloss standing there, but not dressed in his usual garb. He wore a simple black silk suit and no gloves... and his smile wasn't as annoying and wide, but almost gentle and serene. "You look depressed tonight."

She straightened up. "You... What are you doing here..." She hissed,  
>pausing in her feeding as Val giggled and reached up for Xel with gooey baby hands. "You have a lot of nerve Namagomi."<p>

He simply smiled a bit more and gestured. "May I join you?"

She blinked. May? He was asking? That meant if she said no he'd leave?  
>She eyed him warily. He was awful dressed up... what was he up to? She wanted to tell him off, saying to beat it and find a nice garbage heap to crawl in, but she was curious as to why he was suddenly acting so nice to her. She sighed. "Fine." She snapped. "Do what you want."<p>

He pulled the other chair out and seated himself down, then watched as she continued to feed Val with a quiet smile on his face. "He sure eats a lot.."

"Baby's do." She snapped. "Why are you here Namagomi. I told you to leave, and now you're back."

"I did leave. And yes I am back, since you didn't say for how long I should be gone." He smiled infatuatingly and she growled. "So you see, I kept my promise."

"Feh, you twisted it around."

"Well yes, but did you except less?"

She snorted. "No, certainly not." She scowled more as Val clapped his hands and refused to eat, but reached for Xelloss. Filia growled. "Don't pay attention to the Namagomi, Val." She tried to get him to eat it, but he avoided her and reached out to Xelloss with a pudgy hand. She scowled and thrust the food in Xelloss' hands. "I think he want's YOU to feed him, though I can't imagine why." She stalked away from the table to go and warm up her cold meal.

Xelloss shrugged, and began feeding Val, who giggled happily and let him feed him, much to Xelloss' amusement. "I think he does like me... what do you think of that?"

"I'd rather not." Came the snippy reply from Filia as she walked back with her supper. "How long are you going to grace us with your presence?"

"Hmm, I don't know." He said with a smile. "You seem in need of company."

She scowled. "Not yours."

He didn't answer to that, but kept feeding Val as the baby giggled happily. After some time in silence where Filia began eating, he glanced at her slightly. "Ne, Filia-chan...?"

"CHAN? Don't you wish..."

"Fine fine, Filia-SAN..." He replied calmly. "I've been meaning to ask you something for quiet some time now."

She glared suspiciously at him. "What is it Namagomi? It better not be anything kinky."

He chuckled, but shook his head and finished feeding Vas, wiping the baby's face off with a napkin, then taking him onto his lap. "No...  
>it's not."<p>

"Well then, spit it out."

He was silent as Val sat there banging his tray for attention in the interim. Then he turned his face towards her, but his eyes were shadowed. "It's about the Ancients."

Her heart paused a bit in its beating as it did whenever that topic was brought up. "What about them." She asked trying to keep her voice even.

He was silent for a while longer, and in that time Val started reaching for things on the table, being troublesome. "Why did the Golds wipe them out anyway?"

She tensed and grasped her hands in small fists as she closed her eyes.  
>"You know why, Namagomi."<p>

"No, actually I don't."

"Because they were after the fifth weapon of light."

"Yes, but that doesn't explain why they committed the genocide of an entire race of people."

She looked up surprised at him. He was being so serious and asking questions that were straightforward rather than twisting things around and other such manners. "Why do you ask..." She suddenly became suspicious.

He didn't look up however, and when he answered, she could feel a sliiiight bit of uncomfortability beneath his words. "I'm not sure." He said softly. "I just need to know."

She regarded him carefully, her blue eyes seeing more than was there,  
>and doubting what she saw... He was confused himself... But why? Why would the ancients bring up such feelings in him? Feelings... Yes she could feel them. He defiantly radiated some strange feelings... other than curiosity, there was confusion, and slight doubt. She frowned lightly, then sighed. "Well, it's not really much of a case as why they did it, it's just... well..." She trailed off then lowered her eyes.<br>"Greed can do things to people, but you're right, it doesn't' explain their actions..." He sat silently, not moving for a long time, and she began to really wonder why he was so interested... no, worried was more like it... "Xelloss? What is it?" She frowned slightly, not really concerned so much as curious.

He finally looked up, then waved a hand. "Iie... nothing really..." But she could see he was distracted. "I'd best be going then!" He stood up and smiled brightly. "The dinner was lovely!"

"Ano, you didn't eat."

"Details details! Ja ne." And with that he vanished instantly from sight.

Val wasn't happy with that, and started sniffling. She sighed and picked him up, then took him off to bed and laid him there, and then returned downstairs to clean up. She couldn't get her mind off of what he'd said that night. She hated the Namagomi's worthless hide, but... Something bothered her. Why would he be WORRIED about what happened so long ago?  
>The Golds didn't know of Val's existence, and he was not about to be a threat to them, and so then why would the Mazoku be involved? But then,<br>he'd not asked about what was happening, but what had happened. She sighed. Maybe he was just curious... She frowned, then pushed it out of her mind as she blew the candles out, and made her way upstairs to bed. She lay there after undressing, and tried to forget it, but it kept popping into her mind again. Why... Why was he so worried... well,  
>maybe she could figure some things out tomorrow... it was her day off when the shop was closed, so she'd go to the library and do some research. Yes... that's what she'd do...<p> 


	6. Chapter 5

**Of Demons and Dragons**

**Chapter Five: Truths Discovered**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Violence, language, mature themes and torture_

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

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><p><em><em>This fic is dedicated to a dear friend who made an impact on my life by helping me write this. Sadly, she passed away mid-write which is why this fic was never finished. As tribute to her, I've posted it here unfinished for your enjoyment.<em>_

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><p>The next day proved to be rainy anyway, and Filia woke to the sound of water dripping outside of her window off the roof. She sat up and saw Val curled up on her feet in a ball, sucking his thumb. She smiled fondly to herself and stroked his hair gently, then slid out of bed and walked to the window. The rain poured down endlessly, and covered the streets in mud and puddles, making for a dreary scene. She quickly got dressed, then prepared food for them both, ate, and then packed up Val and headed towards the library to do some research on the issue that had plagued her dreams. She went into the library, and immediately headed for the ancient texts that only scholars, or those with knowledge of the dragon language, runes, and lost civilizations could read. She found the room empty, and began sifting throughout the texts, as Val sat and played with a book of his own. She pulled a few out, and began reading... And reading... And reading...<p>

She wasn't aware of the time that sped by, but she glanced over after a while to see Val fast asleep as usual, books of his spread everywhere.  
>She glanced outside the window, and saw the rain had let up enough to show the sun setting in the western sky. "Goodness... didn't know it was so late..." She sighed and closed the book she was reading. She began putting them away, exhausted, and nowhere nearer to the clues she sought than before. She was about to pick Val up, when something caught her eye... it was one book, but it was nearly falling apart and crumbling,<br>in the 'discard' pile of books near the door... the fact that it looked like touching it would break it's fragile pages wasn't what attracted her attention, it was the fact that 'Hierarchy of Ancient Ryuzoku Civilizations' was etched in faded letters on the cover. She bent down and carefully picked the book up, and brought it back to the table, carefully opening it. There was no wonder that they'd discarded it, the pages were coming out and cr5umbling at her touch. The writing was in old script, and written in runes. Human scholars wouldn't be able to translate it, and with it's condition, there was no way that it would be any use for any other than those like her.

She peered at the writing, and carefully began translating it. "Here...  
>Smudged... The passages of the true history and events...ted to the history and...ship of the...ku..." She sighed. "This is fairly bad..." She skimmed ahead to what was written beyond the first few pages, and discovered that it was actually something of a historical timeline... it took the first events of L-sama and the Creation, then listed the start of the orders of the ryuzoku... The ancients it seemed were the originals, then from them spawned the golds and blacks, and other dragons. She flipped forward, staring at each image drawn, each diagram, each passage with fascination... eventually, she came to the end of the book, and found the pages at the end were bloodied, and torn... But the last few pages were the most readable... And when she turned a page, her blood froze completely in her veins.<p>

Staring back at her, no doubt about it though the image was of a younger and slightly different man, was none other than an almost exact portrait of the Trickster Priest...

She stared open mouthed at him in shock. How could this be... But then she drew up short. No, he wasn't the same person... he was different.  
>She squinted through the layers of age and saw that the man had longer hair, and his eyes weren't slit like a mazoku's eyes, and youth was on his features. She peered at the words, but couldn't make out the name of the individual, only bits and pieces of letters. She saw the word nobility, and references to great power, but other than that... She turned the page to read some of the diaries, and saw that it was covered in splatters of blood, and hastily written...<p>

/I thus scribe quickly, else time is losen. Tey have attacked yet again.  
>This time I fyre that tey shall breake. Oure palace has withstoode much damage, and thus it breaks as I spake. I write in hopes that these beecome in the hands of those seeking knowledge of the merder of our race. I feare that we shall lose. They hath teld me to run, to save the moarchy, but I canne do such a thing and abandone mine people. I shalle die here as they shalle. For kings be not greater than the common.<br>Felle! I heare sounds of battle... Hide this book in mine safekeepings... praythee that it be founde... /

She sat back exhaling a big breath. Ancient language... Detailing the attack of the golds it seemed... she felt tears well up in her eyes as she thought of the incident and how horrid it must have been to see kin murdered. She felt hot tears well up, and she closed the book, seeing that it was marked for trash, and put it in her satchel, then picked Val up and made her way outside, as the sun had already set. She walked home methodically, her thoughts on the book and the information. Why did that man look so much like Xelloss? That was the thing that bothered her the most... And worried her. Could it be that Xelloss... No, no of course not. She shoved the thought out of her mind quickly, chiding herself for thinking about it.

She reached home and entered, then went about making dinner for the two of them, but her mind kept straying to the book. She couldn't keep her mind off of it. It was haunting, and irritating. She sighed and sat down after dinner, staring at the book as she sipped hot chocolate by the fire and pondered it over and over. Why him? Why would he be in here, if it was him...

As if to add to the already jumbled mind that she had, she felt a cold presence from behind her, and froze. "Well, speak of the devil." She murmured to herself, then louder. "What do you want."

"Oya oya, so cold!" He stepped forward and sat down in another chair beside her. "Come come, be more hospitable." She noted that he was dressed in the same outfit as yesterday.

"You expect me to Xelloss?"

He smiled in that irritating way he always did and just smirked. "Well,  
>I see you have your own opinions."<p>

"Of course." She closed the book and looked across at him piercingly.  
>"What do you want, namagomi."<p>

He just smiled. "What makes you think I want something?"

She sighed to herself, getting tired and worn out with these games.  
>"Come on Xelloss... You and I both know that you wouldn't be here unless that were the case, now spit it out."<p>

He seemed slightly surprised by her frankness, and met her eyes with his astonished slit ones. "Well..." He finally said after a long pause. "You seem to be very astute today Filia-san.."

"I've had a long day."

He watched her, then shrugged. "Very well, as you wish." He suddenly paused seeing the book in her hands. "May I ask what that is?"

She looked at him then down at the book, then sighed. "You may, I don't know if I'll tell you."

He seemed actually surprised at that, but humored her. "Very well, what is that ancient looking book you hold in your lap?"

She flinched at his words. They were so close to the truth... She glanced down at the book and sighed. "This..." She said quietly. "Is perhaps the answer to many questions."

He raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Answers to what pray tell?"

She watched him closely, then fingered the book slightly, wondering if she should give it to him. "Well... To history, to things that we probably don't want to know or find out."

He frowned slightly at that, and she could see his patience was being tried, but he held it back. "Such as?"

She slowly opened to the page she'd been looking at, the one with his portrait... And looked back up at the trickster. Then silently, she handed it to him.

He took it, and peered down at it, and the expression on his face then was almost unforgettable. She'd never seen such a look of surprise,  
>shock, and confusion that she saw on his face as he gazed at what appeared to be his clone. His fingers touched the paper slightly, as if not believing it, and then he looked up with puzzled eyes. "What is this?"<p>

She looked at him evenly. "You tell me."

He looked back down, a strange look on his face. "I've no idea."

She sighed. "It's the book of ancient dragon hierarchies pre Kouma war."  
>She said softly. "That was apparently the last monarch before the massacre."<p>

He stared down at the picture again. "Ancients? As in dragons?" She nodded wordlessly. "but..." he whispered quietly.

She watched him, and saw confusion on his face. He didn't know more than she did apparently. "I don't know, I was hoping you could tell me Namagomi." But the word wasn't really harsh, more to bring him back to reality.

He looked up with some veiled expression, then back down. "I'd like to borrow this if I could..." He said quietly. "I'll return it, but if I may?"

She frowned. That text was valuable to her and her history, and it was very unique. "You won't destroy it or anything?" Why was she trusting him?

"I promise it will return to you in the same condition it is now." He said softly. "I wish to show this to my mistress."

She sighed, but nodded reserved. "OK, just you better keep you're word,  
>or I'll introduce Mace-sama to you again multiple times."<p>

He laughed at that and stood up, book in hand. "Hai hai, wakatta Filia-san!" And with that he vanished.

She sat there silently, not moving from her chair for some time, turning events over in her head. He didn't know any more than she did... and he was going to seek professional help, yes that was best... but then,  
>would the Greater Beastmaster help them? Well of course, she was his master. She sighed and sat there with a hand on her chin staring at the flames vaguely. Eventually, she fell asleep where she sat.<p>

"Mistress."

The lavender haired lady looked up rather irritated. "Xelloss? What are you doing here, I thought I told you to bother that gold and get info on the ancient."

He bowed his head in apology. "My apologies mistress, but I've found some information to which I think relates, and would interest you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" She held a hand out, and he handed her the book. She then flipped through it casually. "Hmm this is interesting. A text on the Ancients. Very nice work Xelloss." She smiled up at him.

He cleared his throat nervously. "Ano, check the last page before you comment Mistress..."

She frowned, but flipped to the last page and peered at it irritably.  
>"What..." She paused when she saw what was there, and slammed it shut with a sharp action. "I see."<p>

He looked up at her nervously. "What is this Mistress? What does it mean?"

She looked at him with a veiled anger visible there. "No concern of yours."

He tensed at that, and for the first time in his life, he dared to speak back to his mistress when she clearly had stopped any further talk on the issue. "I think it is Mistress."

She froze, and slowly turned to face him. "Xelloss, I do warn you that this is no issue of yours. I advise you to keep out of it... Unless you don't know what's good for you."

Now ordinarily, he would have bowed, apologized, and that would be that.  
>But something deep inside of him was prodding him hard... "I... Think that I need to know Mistress, begging your pardon."<p>

She seemed to freeze, then turned and looked at him, though his gaze was cast down. "You want to know?" She hissed dangerously. "I warn you Xelloss."

"Please.." He murmured softly, knowing he was living it dangerous.

She closed her eyes and threw the book at him, and he managed to catch it before it fell to the ground. "Very well. I'll tell you." Suddenly the scenery shifted around them abruptly so that they were in an abandoned valley, with no grass or foliage anywhere, only rocks and dead things. "You want to know then you will know, but you shall not be my minion any further!" And with that she had his staff in her hand, and brought it against the nearest bolder, and smashed it into thousands of pieces.

He screamed as the pain hit him... Electrifying and intense, painful through every inch of his soul and body like a wild fire loose in a forest. He felt his soul crumbling, dissolving and collapsing on itself,  
>and then everything was bright red in front of his eyes... and then he saw it...<p> 


	7. Chapter 6

**Of Demons and Dragons**

**Chapter Six: To Be (Human) or Not To Be (Human)**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Violence, language, mature themes and torture_

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

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><p><em><em>This fic is dedicated to a dear friend who made an impact on my life by helping me write this. Sadly, she passed away mid-write which is why this fic was never finished. As tribute to her, I've posted it here unfinished for your enjoyment.<em>_

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><p>Filia gasped suddenly as she found herself locked in another dream...<br>But this time, it was harsh and violent, and very familiar... She spun around and looked for a sight of familiarity, and saw two figures a long way off. She started running towards them...

Burning... It was all burning... dead... they were dead... Nothing left... nothing at all... Only death... He was alone...

He struggled to drag himself away from the vile stench of death and hatred, but had been too wounded to manage it, and so lay on the ground,  
>feeling his life blood well out of him. Memories... unbearable memories... Locked inside, screaming to get out, pounding his skull and haunting him like ghosts! How could he escape? He couldn't... he merely cried as he let his life seep out. He would die... finally...<br>but then it was his due... he was a murderer... a murderer of murderers... Forever killing, and enjoying it... now his pain, his guilt, his conscience... It was coming back all at once and eating him alive. Forever... death... yes...

Filia woke with a gasp, and sat up panting in her chair, soaked in sweat. What had she just seen? It had been brutal! Someone was hurt...  
>And dying... She jumped up and looked out of the window. It was still dark out, but the moon was bright... yet, she felt a disquieting inside of her, as if to say, hurry... She opened the door and stepped outside, looking around, then made her decision, and transformed into her true form, and alight into the air, winging her way over the city,<br>following the strong aura. She looked around, and finally found herself in a barren field of rocks and boulders west of town nearer the mountains. Her sharp gaze looked around, then caught sight of one small thing that was not a rock...She gasped and dove down, changing back to human form upon setting down, and rushed over to the individual, seeing blood strewn everywhere about him like a huge puddle.

She gasped in shock, and bent down over the man's still form, and began a healing spell, feeling his life force weak and fading. If she wasn't quick enough... But as she healed, she could feel him slowly coming back from the edge, and sighed in relief, though she couldn't see who it was, nor did she want to know just yet, a strange gut clenching feeling in her stomach. As she let her healing aura flow into him, she glanced to the side, and saw that there was something lying not far away...  
>and her heart then froze. A book... god, it was a book...<p>

Her head jerked back to the injured man, and bent down to lift his head slightly so she could see his face... And her stomach did that clenching thing again... No doubt... But... Her mind froze over. No,  
>not now, ask later. She finished the healing, then gently picked him up in her arms, grabbed the book, and teleported herself and him back to the house. She then made a comfortable place on her bed for him, and lay him down, then sighed and stared at him in bewilderment for a long time,<br>before going back to the window and sitting in a chair to spend the remainder of the night there.

She must have nodded off, because the next thing she knew the sun was shining in her face, and some birds were making their presence known to the world by singing some bright tune. She sighed quietly and rubbed her eyes, and looked around, rather disoriented for a little while, before realizing fully where she was. She glanced quickly over to her bed then,  
>to see the man she'd rescued still lying there asleep, in the same position she'd laid him in last night. Val was up however, banging impatiently on his crib for attention, and she rose and picked him up,<br>then walked over to the bedside to stare down at him for a little while.  
>She was still trying to process the information of who he really was in her mind... And it was taking her a long time... lying on the bed,<br>pale and rather bony, but familiar nonetheless, was none other than the mazoku priest Xelloss... only, he didn't look all to well... And then she remembered the blood... he'd been bleeding... Her mind spun over the ideas in her head wildly, not really understanding it, or wanting to comprehend it... but the facts didn't lie... he lay before her, and had been close to death the night before.

She bit her lip, and then turned to go downstairs, made breakfast for Val and fed him, then put him in his playroom, then walked back upstairs after eating something herself. She took a seat next to his bed, and stared at him openly for some time, a blank unbelieving expression written on her face. How could this be him, or rather, how could he have been lying there almost dead? Especially a mazoku like him, and a high level one at that... She watched the slow falls of his breath as he breathed in and out rhythmically, and she sighed to herself, watching his face. It was somehow different... peaceful, calm, and almost serene... not evil and malicious as it usually was, nor was it smiling in a fake happiness... She sighed and leaned back pondering the issue.  
>OK, so he was here now... What should she do? Why had she even helped him in the first place? Well, that was easy, you had a bad vision, and responded to it... naturally. And if you see one lying nearly dead in the road, you help them... That was it, right?<p>

She was brought to her senses when she saw a slight movement out of the corner of her eye, and she glanced over to see his eyelids flickering slightly. At first she thought it a trick of the mind, but then she noted the movement again, followed by a soft intake of breath. He was definitely coming around. She leaned forward as his lids slowly slipped halfway open, and she set her face in a firm neutral mask as she watched him slowly come aware of his surroundings. When she thought she'd waited enough, she spoke. "Bout time you came around."

His eyes focused on her then, and her heart nearly stopped in shock. His eyes were still the same lavender color... but they were different...  
>there was light reflecting out of them... Light! And the pupil wasn't slit... her shock at seeing this almost missed his quiet words, which in itself was odd since it was totally unlike any she'd heard before.<br>"...Filia..." came the soft whisper, almost pleading.

She jerked back in surprise, then realized that here was someone confused and perhaps hurting, and no matter who it was, she had an obligation to help. "It's OK, you're safe now..." She replied leaning back over him.

His eyes seemed to watch her for a moment, then slid closed, and she saw a visible shiver run through him. A visible shiver... Like a tremor that started at the heart and moved outwards, though he tried to keep it in check so she wouldn't see it. But she did.

"Are you all right Xelloss?" She said quietly. "I found you nearly dead outside of town..."

He didn't respond for a very long time, and she was afraid he'd gone back to sleep again, but then his eyes slid back open, locking on her,  
>and again she got the strange feeling that he wasn't the same... Not at all... there was something... very different...<p>

She managed to smile and pat his hand gently. "It's OK, you just rest up and when you feel better, you can come on down and talk, OK?" She managed to smile, though her mind was whirling in confusion. She could sense that he was in more confusion than she, so she simply put hers aside, and comforted him.

He managed to smile slightly, but didn't move or close his eyes from her, and she felt strange as she met his alluring gaze. It was...  
>magnetic... Yes that's what it was, not piercing and strange like usual, but magnetic and gravitating, as if something was pulling at her... pulling hard too. She couldn't break out of his gaze either. It was odd... As if he wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say... She laughed nervously then, and stood up and waved at him.<br>"I've got to open up shop, so you go ahead and rest as long as you need." And she began to head down stairs.

She polished the vases, and swept the floor clean, then opened shop and let the waiting customers in. Her shop was very popular, and she usually had a small crowd waiting for her to open each day. Not only for the tea and pastries, but for her pottery as well. She was fairly well known,  
>considering that they'd lived there only for a short time.<p>

Sure enough, the crowd was the usual amount, and about an hour after opening the shop, she heard muttering from the customers to see two cloaked figures making their way through the small patio to the main shop. Once they were inside, she immediately recognized them. "Grabos!  
>Jurais!" She smiled gently at the pair. "What are you two doing here?"<p>

Jurais grinned lopsidedly, looking the same old fox as ever. "Well, we decided to see how Valgarv-sama... um I mean Valteria-sama is doing,  
>Filia-dono." He bowed and kissed her hand in respect. "We were in the area."<p>

She smiled brightly at the two. They might have been... Uh... Less than desirable before, but they weren't bad folk. "Certainly, he's quite well and making a racket upstairs.. oh..." She trailed off remembering Xelloss.

"Filia-dono?"

She glanced at the two, then ushered them into the back room to avoid the odd looks customers gave them. "Well it's just..." She hesitated,  
>then decided having a few in on the knowledge might be better. "I found Xelloss outside last night, nearly dead... Bleeding... not like a mazoku either."<p>

They gave her startled looks, then exchanged their own uncertain ones.  
>"Xelloss? But I thought that mazoku didn't get hurt like that..."<br>Grabos mused to himself, scratching his thick head with a slight frown.

She shook her head. "I'm not sure I get it either, but there's also something different about him..." She frowned, then explained what had happened the previous time she'd seen him, about the book and the words exchanged. "I have no idea what connection he has with it, but whatever it is, it didn't look good."

Jurais rubbed his furry chin in thought and frowned slightly. "Hmm...  
>This might be farfetched... but maybe he found something out he wasn't supposed to, and his master punished him and abandoned him? Maybe he isn't mazoku anymore."<p>

Filia nodded slowly, a hint of doubt in her eyes. "I was thinking something along the same lines, but the question is... what was it?"

The three stood silently for some time, then looked at each other wordlessly in puzzlement. "Maybe we should talk to him?" Jurais suggested. "Have you done that?"

She shook her head. "He was... so strange... It frightened me... And I had to open the shop..."

The two nodded. "Can we talk to him then?" Grabos asked. "Maybe we can figure something out."

She nodded. "Go ahead, I'll be with you shortly after I help some more customers." They nodded, and she lead them upstairs while she returned to the main shop.

The two walked upstairs quietly, and opened the bedroom door, hearing loud banging and baby gurgles, and saw Val in his crib still, banging away, and Xelloss curled up on the bed on his side, hugging his knees to him in a fetal position. They exchanged surprised glances, not used to seeing the usually cheerful, if not violent, mazoku in anything but what they saw him now. The door didn't seem to catch his attention, he was probably tuning it out due to the excessive pounding of Val. Grabos walked over to the kid, and picked him up, much to his delight as he began tugging on his cloak happy to get attention. Jurais walked over to the bedside and eyed the trickster. "Xelloss-sama?" He asked politely,  
>not really knowing how to deal with him. Xelloss didn't move however, so he walked around to the other side of the bed to face him, and saw his eyes were open and staring sort of blankly forward at nothing.<br>"Xelloss-sama?" He asked again kneeling down to become eye level with him, and finally getting eye contact. "Filia-dono's worried about you."  
>That seemed to snatch his attention, and his eyes focused on his rather uncertainly. Jurais could see what Filia had meant by how he'd changed... he defiantly wasn't mazoku anymore... There was a feeling of loss there, and confusion, paranoia, and loneliness. And hidden deep down, Jurais could also see a bordering madness there... as if he was trying to push it back, but it was still there haunting him. The fox-man leaned forward and held a hand out to him. "Come on... Why don't you get up huh? You can't sulk all day now."<p>

Xelloss still made no move however, and Jurais glanced over to Grabos who simply shrugged, trying to hold Val from scrambling down out of his arms onto the bed. The kid seemed infatuated with getting to Xelloss,  
>and finally Grabos just gave up and put Val down on the bed. The toddler then crawled over to Xelloss, climbed onto his back and sat right on his side about where his waist was and began tugging on his hair impatiently. Jurais and Grabos both sweatdropped, but then stopped, as Xelloss turned his head to look at Val with a slightly baffled look on his face. Then, he turned over and sat up slowly, as Val clambered over his legs and began tugging impatiently on his short hair with a small pudgy, and rather wet, hand. Then, the most amazing thing occurred...<br>he smiled. Not the usual crafty smile that was well known from him, but a genuine amused smile. Jurais and Grabos both stared open mouthed in astonishment at him for that. Before them was a scene unlike any other... the trickster was sitting cross-legged with baby Val in his lap, who was still tugging at his hair with a gurgling smile, and Xelloss was smiling kindly down at him in a strange way... They were speechless to say the least.

Of course, Filia chose that exact moment to make an appearance, coming through the open door to see how they were doing. "How's it ..." She paused seeing the exact same scene, and freezing in her place looking astonished as well. Xelloss and Val seemed oblivious to the attention they were receiving, a calm look on Xelloss' face still, and Val giggling happily. She finally blinked at the sight, feeling a strange sense of... companionship between the two... How strange...  
>"Xelloss?" She said quietly stepping forward. "Are you OK?"<p>

At that, he lifted his head, the look on it entirely different from before. It was more open and relaxed. She was nearly taken aback at the strange sight that lay before her. And yet, it seemed somehow... almost as if this is the way it should have been... Something was right, as odd as it sounded. He then surprised her again, by smiling at her.  
>"Yes... I will be."<p>

That produced more stares from them, and Filia felt her head whirling around oddly. "Xelloss, do you mind explaining what's going on here? Why were you lying in the middle of the field nearly dead, and what's wrong with you?"

His face seemed to darken, and she could suddenly feel great power focused around him... but it wasn't mazoku, that was the thing that was strange. "Could... we address that later?" His voice was soft and quiet, almost reclusive. "I don't feel up to talking about it now..."

She blinked slightly, glanced at the other two men with some confusion,  
>then shrugged. "Sure." She walked forward and reached for Val, trying to separate the kids' hands from Xelloss' hair. "Come on Val, let go of him."<p>

But as she tried to pick him up, Val started whimpering and only clung tighter, tears welling up in his eyes. She blinked in astonishment before Xelloss' soft voice spoke up. "I think he wants to stay with me..."

She glared at him in bewilderment, but shrugged. "Fine, you can feed him then." And she turned and walked back downstairs.

Jurais and Grabos looked at each other confused. "Well..." Jurais finally said waving a paw. "We'd best be on our way... See ya Val,  
>Xelloss." And Grabos nodded to the two in farewell also, and they departed the room, and the teashop after saying goodbye to Filia.<p>

Xelloss was left with Val upstairs, and so he slowly stood, and walked down then with the child in his arms, and stood to the side watching Filia deal with the customers in a quiet silence. After several minutes,  
>Filia saw them, and grabbed some baby food and gestured for him to sit at a table in the corner, and deposited the food there with a spoon and bib. "Have fun."<p>

Xelloss watched silently as she walked off to handle the shop again,  
>then began to feed the eager Val slowly, as he bounced up and down on his lap clapping his hands eagerly. After he finished feeding him, the crowd was dying down, and Val was hugging him and dozing off with a full tummy. Filia then wandered over with some tea and lunch, and took a seat across from him, setting some food and tea before him. She then took a look at Val, then back to him and sighed. "So... ?"<p>

Xelloss didn't look up immediately, but sipped the tea silently with his eyes closed. After he'd taken a few calm sips, he opened his eyes and folded his arms looking across at her calmly. "Well..." He said quietly. "You must have some conclusions you've drawn."

She sighed, and sipped her own tea, the gentle breeze blowing her hair softly across her face as she watched him carefully. "Yes... I figured out that you obviously aren't mazoku any more for one... and you're very different because of that."

He seemed to nod at that, still not meeting her eyes. "Yes... That's true."

She frowned, thinking of all the things that she would be able to do to him now that he was mortal... "So...?" He glanced up curiously, as if asking what she wanted to know. "WHY are you human?"

He still avoided her gaze, but sighed quietly. "Well... you remember that book you lent me?"

She snorted. "Yes of course, how could I forget. It's upstairs."

He nodded. "I took it to my mistress... and..." He trailed off.

"I assume she wasn't happy with the information?" Filia asked wryly.

He winced, and she felt a twinge of guilt in her stomach. "Yes, to say the least... I...was a fool as well... I pushed her too far..." He seemed to pale a bit at that.

"Meaning?" She pressed, wanting to get to the bottom of the issue.

"Meaning, she didn't want me knowing the truth, and for the first time in my existence, I continued pursuing it after she told me to stop." He sighed and put a hand to his head. "Don't know why I was such a fool."

She watched him carefully, a strange look on her face. "So... What was it that she didn't want you to know? Did you find out?"

He hesitated, then nodded slightly. "She never told me, but she...  
>Showed me... By releasing me of her charge..."<p>

Filia saw his unease, and sighed putting her teacup down and absentmindedly covering one of his hands with her own in comfort.  
>"So... What does that mean?"<p>

"As you suspected, I'm no longer mazoku... She returned me to what I was before she... took me into her... protection." He said quietly. "And of course, she let me have all those memories back that she'd wiped..."

Filia suddenly felt an overwhelming amount of emotions flood out from him at that, though he was trying tightly to keep it inside himself, she could feel it through the touch on his hand. Grief, loneliness, pain,  
>sadness, anger, hatred, bitterness, shock, fear, and many more...none of which were happy emotions. Her breath sucked in softly, not enough so he could hear it, but enough for her to break contact to ponder what she'd just felt from him. Emotions... and quite a bit of them...<br>"That... must be difficult." She said, beginning to understand why he was so quiet suddenly. That would mean he'd gotten a conscience back,  
>and was most likely feeling guilt for what he'd done as a mazoku... And then he would have his old memories to deal with. He nodded at that statement, still not meeting her eyes, and she wondered why... "So...<br>What does this mean?"

He looked up at her, but still not meeting her eyes. "Well... I have no idea really... I suppose I'm free to do as I wish now..." That thought seemed unique to him, and he really looked a bit uncertain as to what to do. "She probably expected me to die... but I doubt she'd come after me now..."

Filia thought that through. So he was human now... But he still remembered his mazoku life, so his knowledge would be invaluable...  
>though he may not have the power he did, he had knowledge, which was just as powerful. But he wasn't used to being so vulnerable. But there was something besides that... He was very different now. It wasn't just that he was quiet and soft-spoken, but he was withdrawn, and he also had an air of someone who knew too much, and knew he knew too much.<br>He would be dangerous to be around, if only because those seeking revenge would find out, and come after him. And what was worse, from the looks of it, he knew this. She suddenly felt bad for him... maybe he wasn't a bad person after all, if you got rid of the mazoku part of him... She sighed to herself, and noted Val clutching him tightly,  
>with a smile on his face as he breathed bubbles out of his nose in his sleep. "Well... It seems Val is taken with you, which I find ironically odd."<p>

He smiled slightly then, and glanced down, brushing some hair off of the kid's forehead. "Yes... it is rather ironic..." He sighed quietly, then looked up at her with a strange look, before glancing back down.

She frowned, then sighed. "Look, why don't you stay here for the time being, as long as you help out and don't just mooch off of us. Until you figure out what to do at least."

He looked up, genuinely surprised. "Here? You... would let me stay here?" He looked almost as if he didn't believe her.

She smiled slightly, not because she found him funny at his expression,  
>but that the idea that she would be offering him to stay there freely.<br>"Yeah, I'm sure. No sense in you wandering around there vulnerable."

He looked almost relieved, grateful, and happy at once. "Thank you Filia-san..." He said quietly. "Thank you for your kindness... I know you don't have to do this..."

She snorted and stood back up, to take care of the growing amount of customers. "Just don't tick me off, got it Namagomi?"


	8. Chapter 7

**Of Demons and Dragons**

**Chapter Seven: Tears of Past Sorrows**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Violence, language, mature themes and torture_

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p><em><em>This fic is dedicated to a dear friend who made an impact on my life by helping me write this. Sadly, she passed away mid-write which is why this fic was never finished. As tribute to her, I've posted it here unfinished for your enjoyment.<em>_

* * *

><p>The day had been busy and quite a hectic one, since apparently there was some huge festival that the city was preparing for, so new cookery was needed for decoration and for preparation. Filia had been busy running the cashier and tending to guests, which left the teashop in a less organized manner, which Xelloss took upon himself to aid. Filia had been quite surprised that he'd immediately begun helping out by serving, and even cooking the tea using the prepared tea bags and grains she'd prepared. And the strange part was, the customers seemed to take real well to him, being quite sociable and laughing to his occasional jokes.<br>She would occasionally look up to see him exchanging pleasantries, and smiling nodding with the customers. She shook her head in bewilderment at that from time to time, and continued on in her work with an amazed expression. At the end of the day, the store was emptying, and he went ahead and closed the door, turning the sign over and locking it. She finished counting the money in the register, and sighed leaning back against the bookshelves behind her in exhaustion.

Xelloss was wiping his hands on a cloth, and walked calmly towards her looking tired. "Is it always this busy?" He leaned against the counter with a sigh.

She smiled. "Usually, no. But it wasn't that bad really..." She yawned and stretched, when a loud growling sound was heard. She blinked, then stared at Xelloss, who was looking slightly embarrassed. "You.." She said slowly. "Haven't you eaten anything?"

He shook his head, looking a bit red. "Um, no... not since...uh... the tea you made me..."

She suddenly realized that he wasn't used to determining whether he was hungry or not. She shook her head. "Ok, I'll cook dinner, would you care for Val while you're at it?"

He nodded and headed upstairs, and she set about cooking something quick and easy for them. She could occasionally hear giggling and squealing from upstairs, and she would shake her head in amusement from time to time. Then the pair came downstairs, Val riding piggy-back on Xelloss,  
>looking like he was having the time of his life. Xelloss looked equally as happy, a smile on his face, and his eyes open and twinkling up at the toddler mischievously. She couldn't help but hide a smile at the two as she set their dinners before the table. "Honestly..."<p>

The flames were flickering low in the fireplace as the two sat there before the hearth, hot drinks in their hands, and warmth at their feet.  
>Xelloss was staring absently at the flames, Val curled up on his lap happily sleeping. Filia glanced at him from time to time, seeing that he was drawn deep in thought. Finally, she broke the ice. "What are you thinking about?"<p>

He glanced over at her, then shook his head. "Lots of things."

She monitored his face carefully, and saw that he was hiding emotions again. "Such as?"

"Why is the sky blue? Why do we designate items to be delivered by ship cargo instead of shipment?"

She grimaced. "Enough Xelloss..."

His eyes slid shut slowly, and she saw a painful expression cross his face again. "About what's happened... About who and what I am... And the consequences thereof."

She nodded, having figured as much. She didn't want to bring out tender subjects, but... "Xelloss... I know how difficult these 'new' old memories must be..." She glanced at the fire absently. "But... Maybe if you told me a bit, it would help?"

"You really don't want to know Filia... Trust me..." His voice sounded heavy and tired, and she glanced over to see his hand to his head in exhaustion. "It would make things worse."

She frowned, but didn't push the issue much. However, she wasn't about to give up either. "It must be hard for you, being mortal again after being mazoku for so long."

"Yes.." He mused. "It is in a way, but then I spent so much time among humans that I don't have trouble with the social customs, so it's just my own adjusting I have to learn."

She nodded slightly. "Xelloss..." she paused. "What was your name? It wasn't Xelloss before, was it?" She glanced at him curiously.

He shook his head. "No, that was the name my mistress gave me. I actually... Don't remember my own name..." He said softly, a tinge of regret there. "It's been so long... And the memories were... cooped up there..."

She nodded and watched him carefully. He was telling the truth... But there was hidden emotions, and half truths embedded there. "What was your life like? Before, I mean."

He didn't answer that for a long time. She was afraid that she'd overstepped her boundaries, but then he sighed and spoke slowly. "Not pretty Filia... Not at all."

She watched him for a long time after that. His hand was stroking Val's head slowly, rhythmically, smoothing the child's hair back. Her thoughts then drifted back to the book, and suddenly, she began to form an idea in her head. "Xelloss..." She said quietly. "This has to do with what we saw in the book... doesn't it?" He looked up at her, with haunted eyes, then nodded slowly once. She took a deep breath, her heart beginning to beat faster in worry as she formulated an idea. "And...  
>that would mean that then you..."<p>

"... Yes... I am the person sketched in that book.." He replied quietly, almost so quiet she couldn't hear him.

She took a long shaky breath as she watched him stroking Val's head.  
>"Then...that would also mean that you are..." He didn't answer, nor did he look up. But the answer was there as his hand paused on Val's head. They didn't need him to answer it... they both knew. Filia leaned back slowly, the truth sinking in hard. The memories... of course...<br>no wonder he didn't want to discuss it. "God Xelloss... I'm sorry..."  
>She whispered in near awe. "I never would have thought..."<p>

"Don't worry, neither did I." He replied softly. "It came as a shock..."

She shook slightly as all the information converged, and the reality hit her. He must have subconsciously known... That would make sense and justify his actions during the Kouma War... all that murder, it was revenge... Though he may not have known it at the time, the Greater Beastmaster must have. She took a shaky breath in shock as the truth ran through her mind. Xelloss was staring down, not speaking, and she realized that he was trying not to...cry.

Suddenly everything inside of her broke at once, and she found herself embracing him tightly, much to his surprise, tears of her own beginning to run down her cheeks. "Don't... hold it in like that... You shouldn't have to..." She felt his hand start to take her arm to separate them, but she held tighter. "Let it out for once... No one should hold something back for my sake..."

He seemed surprised... and she could feel his emotions building up inside of him, but she still shook and clung to him, feeling guilt wash over her. Why should she be guilty for him... But she was... Then,  
>she felt something wet and warm fall on her hand, and she glanced up to see his eyes closed, and fresh tears streaming down his cheeks silently.<br>She smiled slightly. How odd... Xelloss crying... But she reached a hand up to his cheek and brushed a tear away, and his eyes opened to meet hers, and she saw the scars inside of him... the emotional turmoil and pain that he was hiding... She wondered how he could hold it all in so much. It was enough to drive someone insane... yet she had a feeling that there was something keeping him from falling that far... and there was...

He then reached out and held her tighter to him, and she could feel his grief and tears increase, until he was shaking and not holding back any further... they stayed that way, for hours... until she became aware that he'd finally stopped, and she glanced over to hear deep breaths coming from him... She sighed softly to herself. He'd finally fallen asleep from exhaustion... Not that she could blame him.

She gently separated herself from him then, and picked him up carefully,  
>and carried him upstairs, laying him in the bed with Val in his arms still. She watched the two with a quiet smile and sad eyes. "It seems my charge has increased to two ancients now."<p> 


	9. Chapter 8

**Of Demons and Dragons**

**Chapter Eight: Reality of the Present**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Violence, language, mature themes and torture_

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p><em><em>This fic is dedicated to a dear friend who made an impact on my life by helping me write this. Sadly, she passed away mid-write which is why this fic was never finished. As tribute to her, I've posted it here unfinished for your enjoyment.<em>_

* * *

><p>Xel sighed as he ended his story, feeling various mixed reactions well up inside him from having to relive the experiences again that he'd sooner forget. They were painful, and haunting, and it had taken him a very long while to get over it, for sure. Weeks to cope with his conscience and days of crying endlessly at the murder, the pain, the horror that he'd done... It was a wound that may never entirely heal.<p>

The others in the room were silent, thinking over the entire story in their minds. It was a tragic and gruesome one, he'd been right about that, and they took their time processing what they made of it. After long moments of silence, the historian spoke up. "For sure you've not had an easy life..."

Xel smiled faintly at that. "That is a minor understatement..." He sighed and closed his eyes, putting his arms around the sleeping Val.  
>"But... I suppose each person has their up and down moments... I just happened to be caught on the extreme."<p>

They nodded from one to the other, and stayed silent, still digesting the story. While they were doing so, Val stirred then opened his golden eyes and looked up. He giggled and reached up at Xel's face, startling the ancient slightly. He gurgled at him happily, oblivious of the goings on around him. "Pa pa... ma ma...doko?"

Xel stroked the baby's head. He had started learning to talk just about the time that he'd joined their little group... He supposed it was his influence, Val was very attached to him, for obvious blood kinship reasons, but he'd become very active and made more motions towards talking the past week. Xel ruffled Val's hair gently. "She's ok, I'm sure... Don't worry about her, she's a big girl..." He whispered, worry in his eyes as he mimicked her own words.

Suddenly there was scrambling from outside, and frantic voices. "Oii~!"  
>Came the soft cry from outside. "You better get him out of here, someone tipped you off, and they've got some mercenaries chasing after them blowing parts of the city up!"<p>

The owner scurried up quickly and stuck his head out of the cellar, and talked with the individual for a moment, then ducked back in. "Come on Xel-san. You better go now." He offered a hand, and Xel pulled himself up carefully, though his stomach still ached from where the gold's had punched him, and his wing throbbed, but he clutched Val to him tightly and limped towards the exit.

"Here!" Someone draped a cloak over his back and the wings, with a reassuring smile. "You might need it to keep a low profile."

He smiled down at them with relief, gratitude on his face. "Thank you.."  
>He murmured and pulled the hood over his head and clutched Val to him underneath the cloak to hide him, then took a breath and climbed out of the cellar into the streets. As he ran, he clenched his fist and drew his wings into himself, as much as it hurt, and as dangerous as it was,<br>he couldn't be seen with them. At least they would heal, if more slowly,  
>from inside him.<p>

Various people were hovering there, throwing cautions glances around.  
>"Hurry!" One man said quickly. "They're a block away!"<p>

He quickly dashed down the opposite alley, following their guide with Val hugging him tightly inside the cloak, and he grit his teeth as the pain in his ankle kicked in. /Not not, not now! / He hissed to himself.  
>They turned corners and dashed down alleys, changing direction at the wave of one person. Xel was amazed at the amount of people who were undercover helping them... He had more friends than he'd expected, in such a short time. He limped quickly after their guide, and saw him yet change directions again. Wasn't this heading back in the way they'd...<p>

Suddenly his whole body was flung against the stone wall of the building nearest him and he gasped aloud in pain as his arm was shoved behind him, and he heard another crack of something, most likely a bone, and a sword was suddenly pushed to his throat in one swift gesture before he could react.

His heart was pounding nearly so hard that it blurred his vision, both from pain and adrenaline. He tried to stay still, since he could feel the sword cutting into his neck as his captor had him pinned by a shoulder as well. "Don't move or you're a dead man." His captor growled in a low dangerous voice.

He closed his eyes, expecting the worst, but not even dreaming of moving. Then he heard the soft sound of clapping from someone. "Very good... You're very elusive... We had a hard time tracking you." Came a female voice to his ears. "You just better be worth all this trouble for the money they promised us." He heard footsteps come closer then stop. Then he heard dead silence, but didn't dare open his eyes to see what was happening. Suddenly there was a soft whimper from under his cloak and he felt Val's grip tighten on him. This seemed to surprise his assailants, who threw the cloak open, only to see a young cyan haired one year old clinging to him with frightened eyes screwed shut. "What the..." Came the puzzled voice. "We were after a guy and his kid?"

"Um... Lina-san... isn't that..." Came a tentative voice from the side, making his eyes snap open in shock at sudden realization.

Standing before him, staring back at the smaller girl in white, who was staring at him with wide eyes, was the infamous Dra-matta... His one time companion, and her gang of flotsam and jetsam friends. Lina Inverse. She was glancing back at the girl, Amelia, frowning. "What are you talking about?"

Amelia pointed at them. "Isn't that Valgarv-san? And..." She looked up at him and their eyes met, and she got a startled puzzled look. "But..."

Lina turned her gaze back to him, and her eyes promptly widened and her mouth dropped open. "Well I'll be damned..." Her gaze promptly narrowed. "Perhaps they were right after all in having us chase after you." But he saw faltering on her behalf, then suddenly she reached out towards him. He jerked his cheek away, or tried to, but felt the sword at his throat. She gently touched his cheek with a few fingers, then drew back and studied them. Her gaze went up to his, and he could see confusion. "What the hell is going on here? You're bleeding."

"Uh, wait I don't get it."

"Shut up Gourry!"

He felt faint, both from pain and from near relief. But still didn't move, since stone boy's sword was pressed even harder against his neck.  
>"All the better." Came the terse growl. "Maybe we can get rid of him now."<p>

"Stop it Zelgadiss!" Came the snappy shout. "Look at what you're doing!"  
>And the sword was jerked out of the way of his neck letting him be free against the wall. However, the adrenaline was leaving his body, and he felt weak and shaky and too tired to move from his position. Val was tugging on his shirt, whimpering, but he was still frozen.<p>

Zelgadiss had whirled about and was facing Lina. "Come on, why are we after this trash? He can just disappear anytime he wants to! We're wasting our time." He turned about and made as if to leave but Lina stopped him.

"Matte! Yeah, he could disappear any time he wanted to... BUT, look at him!" She pointed at Xel with a finger. "He's terrified Zel!"

They all looked at him somewhat astonished... he looked a mess, from his ashen face and eyes filled with terror, to his wounds and Val clutching him tightly crying in fear. He was just a shadow of the person whom they'd known before... And a frightened shadow at that.

Amelia seemed to realize that something was wrong, and walked up to him.  
>"Xelloss-san... are you ok?" She gently took his good arm and looked up with concern. "You don't look well, maybe you'd better sit down..."<p>

He seemed to vaguely recognize the gentle order, and slowly sunk to his knees, sitting down, while Val looked up with tear-filled eyes at him and reached for his face. "Pa pa..." He touched Xel's cheek with the gashes, and he winced and seemed to come out of his trance to grasp Val's hand an squeeze it lightly, glancing down at him tiredly.

"Shh.." He whispered hugging him to him, and a small tear trickled down his cheek, hitting Val's head. "It's ok..."

The others were staring at him with blank astonished expressions on their faces, as if to say 'this guy is Xelloss?', and were obviously at a loss for words. Finally, Lina seemed to snap out of it, and kneeled down. "Oi... Xelloss, are you all right?"

He looked up with lost eyes at her. "No... no I'm not..."

Amelia's hand came away red and she gasped slightly. "Xelloss san...!  
>You're injured!" She reached for his cloak, and pulled it back to reveal his left arm where it was obvious that it was badly broken. She glared up. "Ok enough, he needs to be cared for first, then we can ask questions later!" Her tone was no nonsense and commanding, unlike the young girl she'd been just a few years ago. "Let's go to an inn or something."<p>

The others nodded slightly and Amelia helped him stand up, and he still carried Val in his arms, though he was obviously tired. They then made their way to the nearest inn, and booked a few rooms, then all piled in there. Amelia led Xel to the bed and sat him firmly down. He obliged,  
>and Val jumped up on the bed and sat there with wide eyes watching.<p>

She then made him take his cloak off, and carefully took his arm,  
>despite his gasps of pain, and put a numbing spell on it, then set it and began to heal it with her white magic. He sat there, face still pale, but trying to concentrate on staying conscious. It took a little bit, in which there was dead silence through the room, as the others stared at him with narrowed suspicious glances. He felt nervous under their gazes, but didn't look up to avoid having to come in contact with them. Once Amelia had finished, she sighed, and he smiled in gratitude at her. "Thank you Amelia-san..." He said in a quiet calm voice, very unlike him. She returned his smile, then stood and took off the bloody bandages on his cheek, and began replacing them with fresh ones, since she couldn't heal that injury so soon after her major healing of his arm.<p>

When it was done with, Val was curled up in his lap sucking his thumb,  
>and the others sat around, watching him waiting for an answer. He kept quiet though, staring off into nothing for a bit, before Lina's voice brought him back to reality. "So, are you gonna explain or not Xelloss?"<p>

He looked up to meet their suspicious glares. "What.. would you like me to explain?" He said carefully, knowing there were some truths he had to keep to himself.

Lina scowled. "Well, for one, you're not a mazoku anymore, that much is obvious, there's no evil aura around you. So what's the deal?"

He looked from one to the other, then carefully chose his words. "Yes,  
>I'm not mazoku any longer... And I've been discharged of my position..."<p>

"I see..." Lina said slowly staring at him. "So you're not a Priest and General of Zelas anymore?"

He nodded his head. "Correct."

Lina seemed to ponder that, and Zelgadiss was smiling in the corner for some odd reason, for which Xelloss could only speculate. "So... you're human and you're getting along with Filia obviously, or you wouldn't have Val..." She frowned. "Where is Filia anyway?"

At that remark, he paled considerably remembering where she'd gone.  
>"I... don't know... We were separated... She went off to lure them away from us..." His voice shook a bit as he thought of what could have happened to her. "God... I hope she's ok..."<p>

That shocked them to no ends... They stared at him blankly at his obvious worry for her. "Wait... you two are civil now?" Lina asked in disbelief. "I can't believe that."

He smiled sadly. "Odd isn't it...? But they say that the one that is most comforting in times of need is the enemy..." He smiled quietly.  
>"Yes, we've made up our differences I'd say."<p>

Zel snorted, and that made Xel look up at him with a somewhat bitter look. "Is that so hard to believe?"

"Yes." He said sourly. "You two were at each others throats a few months ago, and now you're friends? I don't know if I believe this whole thing with you being 'normal' now. It's probably another trick of yours."

Xel took a deep breath to calm himself, his rage beginning to boil a bit. "I know it's difficult to believe, and I'm not going to force you to help me or trust me. All I ask is that you don't turn me over to those golds. I have to find Filia, and protect Val."

They stared at him, Amelia with some respect, Gourry just a normal Gourry-like look, and Lina rather skeptically, and Zel of course looking amused and suspicious. "So.." Lina said. "Why were they after you? Wait,  
>never mind, I can guess." She tapped her chin. "they wanted to kill you for obvious reasons, and then there's Val... they must know he's an Ancient."<p>

Xel nodded slowly. "Yes... If they managed to catch us, we'll both be killed. Filia as well... if she.." He choked on that. If she hasn't already...

The women looked sympathetic, though Lina didn't look convinced. "Ok,  
>here's what we'll do Xel." He looked up at her. "We won't turn you in to them, cause I'm interested in this whole thing... but we wont' help you after we find Filia and make sure that she's ok, deal?"<p>

He nodded slowly. "Hai... Deal."


	10. Chapter 9

**Of Demons and Dragons**

**Chapter Nine: Blood Feuds and Blood Bonds**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Violence, language, mature themes and torture_

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p><em><em>This fic is dedicated to a dear friend who made an impact on my life by helping me write this. Sadly, she passed away mid-write which is why this fic was never finished. As tribute to her, I've posted it here unfinished for your enjoyment.<em>_

* * *

><p>Lina watched him, then shook her head. "You're different Xelloss...<br>It's too weird."

He looked up then smiled slightly, looking more like his old self. "Yes.  
>I suppose it is. I guess I've gotten used to it."<p>

Amelia sat down next to him and picked Val up in her arms, playing with him. "Xelloss-san, does this mean that you're a pursuer of justice and truth now that you're not a mazoku?"

He sweatdropped with the others in the room. "Ano... I... guess you could uh, say that..."

Her eyes got wide and happy. "I always knew that you would be changed to the side of justice! This is wonderful!" She threw her arms around him,  
>and gave him a tight hug, which ordinarily would have killed him from overwhelming happiness before, but he managed to make a semi-gracious look and take it in good stride.<p>

The others simply sighed in exasperation, and threw up their arms. Why fight it. "Anyone feel like dinner?" Lina said, which quickly got them all headed downstairs without problem. They ordered the usual meal fit for an army, and set about devouring it, even Xelloss joined in, though not as wolf-like as the others. After the meal, they leaned back all stuffed, and content. However, someone approached the table warily and cleared his throat, tapping Xelloss on the shoulder lightly. "Ano...  
>excuse me sir... um, I was asked to tell you that the lady you seek may be outside of town... and quite wounded..."<p>

Xelloss' eyes shot open in anger and terror at once and he jumped to his feet, snatching the guy by the collar and shouting in his face. "Where is she!"

The man pointed shakily towards the north. "Ou...t side of town...  
>Uh... by the forest path..."<p>

It was as if a whirlwind had taken control of him. He was sprinting out the door faster than they could blink, even leaving Val behind at the table with the rest of them. They glanced at each other, then nodded and started after him running to catch up, but they had long lost him as he sprinted faster ahead of them. However, they soon enough found their way to the outskirts, and sure enough, a small group of people were gathered around something very large... and they could hear shouts from others as someone elbowed their way through. They didn't have to think twice to determine what was going on... They knew...

"Amelia! Zel!" Lina cried as she ran forward quickly with them close behind towards the fallen golden dragon. They shoved their way through the people and rushed to Xelloss' side, as he clutched Filia's head in his arms and was crying heavily, each sob shaking his body as he cried her name over and over again. They didn't spare time in putting their hands up to heal her, all of them combining their strength as one, but her bulk was far too much for them to handle... and her injuries were critically serious. They tried hard, and Lina muttered low under her breath. "If only Sylphiel were here..."

Xelloss seemed to know that they couldn't do enough in time, and he screamed in anger and pain at the skies, as an enormous energy seemed to build up around him all at once. His rage and pain spurred it, and they gaped in shock as his form began to glow, and shimmer in the strange light that surrounded him. Then from his back, huge black feathered wings, one looking damaged, exploded outwards and the energy pulsated more and became nearly blinding. By now, they were too shocked to speak,  
>and had stopped their magic to stare at him, absolutely taken aback.<br>Then there was a bright explosion of light that radiated from him in waves and surrounded Filia's body like tendrils of light, and then were drawn into her, absorbing into her skin, and making her glow brightly.  
>Then... before their eyes, the wounds began to heal over, heal and knit from the inside and seal over as if there were none. They gaped more as this happened, and Lina was staring at Xelloss with a curious but still shocked look as she shaded her eyes from him.<p>

Then it was over... the light faded from him and from her, and he slumped over her neck, weakly, gasping and shaking a bit, his wings limp against his back and quivering with the effort it had taken him. The group stood uncertainly for a moment, then jerked into action as they saw him slump forward unconscious over her. Amelia rushed to his side,  
>and tried to pick him up, but wasn't strong enough to, and so she just examined him. "He's just exhausted..." She said quietly.<p>

Just then, there was a soft moan, and Filia's eyes quivered once, then slid open. Lina ran over to her side as she slowly lifted her large head, making Xelloss who was draped over her neck slide to the ground in a heap. She blinked around slightly confused. Wha..

Lina held a hand up. "Filia, are you ok?"

The dragon lady must have sensed the worry in her voice, for she glanced around and then saw Xelloss on the ground. Xelloss! Her mental voice practically screamed, and she was changing back to her human form before any could protest, and kneeling by him with a fearful worried glance on her face. "Xelloss!" She shook him and cradled his limp form in her arms, tears starting to roll down her cheeks.

Amelia knelt by her. "I think he's ok... He used all his energy healing you."

Lina joined them and nodded solemnly. "He saved your life Filia... We three together were trying to heal you, but it wouldn't have been enough..."

She looked up with tearful blue eyes and then back down at him with a soft smile before kissing his forehead gently and brushing some hair out of his face. "I see... Thank you..."

The crowd was standing around, looking worried and confused, and Gourry came up behind them with Zel not far behind. "Uh, maybe we should find somewhere else to talk?" He suggested.

They nodded among themselves, and agreed. "Right..." Lina said standing.  
>"We're obviously not safe around here with what's happened... let's go." She started walking into the woods, and the others followed her,<br>with Filia carrying Xelloss in her arms with Gourry's help.

They walked a fair distance before deciding they were safe enough, and decided to stop and camp for the night. They risked a fire and sat about it as the sky began to darken and looked at each other silently. Xelloss was still unconscious, and rather pale to boot, lying down with Filia's cloak over him for warmth. Finally, Lina sighed. "Ok, so what exactly is going on here Filia... there's more than Xelloss told us..."

Filia looked up slowly. "What did he tell you?"

"All he said is, and I quote," Lina said crisply. "If they managed to catch us, we'll both be killed" She sighed. "Why? I though it was because he's not mazoku any more... but that's obviously not all of it... Why are you involved here?"

Filia looked down slightly embarrassed. "Well... Since I'm a traitor...  
>to the golds anyway, and since I was hiding them... That's why."<p>

Lina frowned. "So... they know that Val's an ancient, and they know Xel's vulnerable... But there's one more thing..." She said glaring over at Xel's figure.

Zelgadiss finished for her. "Why does he have wings, and how can he cast such a powerful healing spell if he's not mazoku any more."

Filia looked from one to the other, then sighed. "Then he didn't tell you that part..."

"What part?" Zel said irritably as Lina and the others watched her.

She looked up at them. "Didn't you wonder how he could be alive now if he was no longer a mazoku?"

Lina shrugged. "I assumed he was human before or his master made him human."

Filia shook her head. "No... not human."

They stared at her, then slowly the realizations began to dawn on their faces, except Gourry, and Amelia took a small breath. "Oh my... you mean Xelloss-san is...?"

Filia nodded slowly. "The golds don't know, they just want him dead. But if they found out, all the more reason to get rid of him and Val... The last two Ancient dragons..." Her gaze fell to them, since Val was sleeping on Xelloss' chest. "Val knows somehow... There's a bond between them, and he loves Xelloss even though he's too young to understand. And I think Xelloss feels similarly, he cares deeply for Val." She sighed. "It... Is hard to believe, I know. But..." Her gaze softened. "He is a different person than before... he really is."

There was complete silence for a while, the crackling of the flames the only sound in the darkness besides that of the evening crickets.  
>Finally, Lina sighed. "Well... now that's something I never expected..."<p>

Amelia stared at her hands rather uncertainly. "So... Xelloss-san is a dragon? Like Valgarv-san?"

Filia nodded, gently brushing a hand over his forehead, with a tender look on her face. "Yes... that is exactly it Amelia..."

They obviously didn't know quite what to think of all this, and it was solved by Gourry reappearing out of nowhere with some rabbit. "How bout dinner!"

They ate their dinner, ravenously of course, then settled down to discuss what they were going to do, which ended up just where they'd started, and they decided that the best thing to do was to just sleep on it and see what the morning brought. Filia curled up next to Xelloss and Val, and the others settled down while Gourry sat first watch.

Several hours had passed already, when something moving brought his attention to Xelloss, who was stirring slightly. Before long, he opened his eyes, and looked around slightly disoriented, then pushed himself halfway up to his elbows, noting that Filia and Val were there with him,  
>and looking relieved.<p>

"Feeling better?" Gourry asked drawing Xel's attention.

He smiled slightly and nodded, then managed to separate himself from Filia and drape the cloak over her and Val, then make his way over to where Gourry was, sitting by the flames next to the swordsman. "Still weak, but now that she's all right, I'm fine."

Gourry nodded slightly, his eyes staring into the flames rather absently. "You really care for her don't you?"

Xelloss nodded solemnly, reaching up and examining his still injured wing. "Yes... More than anything."

Gourry nodded slightly at that, seeming to understand for some odd reason. "Can I ask you a question Xelloss?" The purple haired man nodded solemnly, looking up at the taller blond man. "What are you going to do now?"

Xelloss sighed and let his hands fall in his lap. "I don't know...  
>It's obvious that they'll be searching for us once again... They won't stop until they find us."<p>

Gourry nodded slightly. "So, you'll keep running and hiding?"

Xelloss was silent for a long time, then looked up at him with knowing eyes. "Of course not. The best way to face your problems, is to confront them directly."

Gourry glanced at him curiously, his blue eyes slightly inquisitive.  
>"Why do you say that? Aren't you the one who hides secrets and misleads people?"<p>

"Hmm.. well I'm not the only one." He stated plainly.

Gourry blinked once, then smiled and turned back to the fire. "Yeah,  
>well..." He shook his head. "I didn't think you knew."<p>

Xelloss glanced up at him. "Just as you figured out I was mazoku before the others, I figured you out long ago." He stared back at the flames himself. "Though I am puzzled as to why you'd hide something like this.  
>There's no real reason, but of course you must have one."<p>

Gourry chuckled. "Yeah, course I do."

"So, care to share? Or is it to remain a secret?"

Gourry was silent for some time, then slowly brought out the sword of light and let the hilt fall off, holding the hilt in his hand. "It's mostly because of this."

Xelloss had a pained look suddenly, which he hid quickly. "I see."

Gourry didn't miss much however. "What's wrong?"

Xelloss bit his lip. "Well... you surely must know why I'm a bit...  
>Nervous around the light weapons."<p>

"Oh yes, I'm sorry..." Gourry apologized quickly. "I can understand your position."

Xelloss was silent for a while, then glanced at the weapon in Gourry's lap. "Tell me... Why are they after them so much? Why must someone posses all of them? Why drive their people to do acts of which they wouldn't ordinarily do? I never really understood it, even as a mazoku."

Gourry frowned. "I'm not sure. There must be some hidden power to possessing them all... And that's enough to make me continue this. I don't want it ending up in the wrong hands."

Xelloss nodded solemnly. "I see... You're a noble warrior then."

Gourry smirked and nudged him on the shoulder. "I'm nothing. Just a swordsman. You, my ancient friend, have seen much more, and are far older and more experienced than I."

"A fact I'm not entirely proud of."

"You should be. You have to be proud of something."

Xelloss glanced at him surprised, then smiled. "I see... Yes, of course, you're right." He smiled and closed his eyes. "Well I am proud of what I am. I wouldn't wish to be anything else, especially after what I've been through." He chuckled. "I've lived as a mazoku who pretended to be human while he never knew he was ryuzoku. I think I've experienced every flavor of life."

Gourry laughed out loud. "Yeah, sorta ironic, but you've got a lot ahead of you after all. It ain't over yet."

"Yes... So true, so true."

They let the silence encompass them, and the firelight lit small sparks from the flames into the night sky, to blend with the twinkling stars above.


	11. Chapter 10

**Of Demons and Dragons**

**Chapter Ten: Into the Heart of Darkness**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Violence, language, mature themes and torture_

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

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><p><em><em>This fic is dedicated to a dear friend who made an impact on my life by helping me write this. Sadly, she passed away mid-write which is why this fic was never finished. As tribute to her, I've posted it here unfinished for your enjoyment.<em>_

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><p>It was already late morning when the group all began to awaken, and stretch with the new day. Filia woke and instantly realized that the cloak she had put over Xelloss was over her, and she looked around worried for him, only to see him leaning against a tree, carving something with a sharp talon he'd materialized. She crawled over to him,<br>Val behind her, and sat down next to him, peering at his work as the others began to wake slowly. Lina yawned and sat up, then saw the trio and grinned wider. "Morning." She said as she stood and walked over to them. "How you feeling Xelloss?"

The purple-haired dragon smiled up at her with twinkling violet eyes.  
>"Oh quite a bit better, though still weak, Lina-san."<p>

She snorted, but saw the happy look on Filia and Val's faces and said nothing, but turned to the fire and re-lit it to make breakfast. "So,  
>what are you two going to do now, er three."<p>

Filia glanced at Xelloss questioningly, and he nodded to her still carving. "I think we've decided to go to the source of the problem."

Lina blinked then paled a bit. "You're what?"

"We're going to my homeland." Filia elaborated quietly. "To sort things out."

They all stared at them. "You're crazy..." Lina said softly. "You're going INTO the heart of the place where they want you both dead?"

Xelloss looked up slowly, a serious look on his face. "We'll never get anything settled if we don't face it head on. We can't be running from them forever."

There was silence for a while, then Amelia spoke up. "What about Val?  
>You can't take him with you..."<p>

Filia looked down at the young child, and smiled tenderly then stood with him and walked over to her, handing the child to her. "Would you mind caring for him until we come back then Amelia? I know he'll be in good hands with you."

Amelia's jaw practically dropped open in shock. "Wh..wh..." She gaped.  
>"You want me to take care of him for you?"<p>

Filia nodded, and Xelloss slowly stood, standing beside her. "Yes." He said quietly. "There's no telling what might happen where we're going,  
>and we don't want to put him at risk."<p>

The others had slowly come up around him. "You're really serious about this aren't you?" Lina asked quietly. They both nodded solemnly. She sighed. "Very well then, guess I'll go with ya." They blinked at her in surprise. "What? Can't have you two going by yourselves, who knows what trouble you'll get in."

A soft smile crossed Filia's face, and Xelloss looked slightly relieved,  
>but anxious at the same time. Gourry stepped forward, putting a hand on Lina's shoulder. "Yeah, I'll go too."<p>

"Minna..." Filia whispered.

Zel snorted and stalked off angrily into the woods, looking as if he was leaving. Amelia looked from one to the other, then bit her lip. "Uh,  
>well I guess I can't go if you want me to take care of him..." She hugged Val to her, who was looking distressed from being separated from his mother and father. "So... I'll go with Zelgadiss-san..." Her blue eyes looked up at them worriedly. "Be careful..."<p>

The group nodded as the princess left, and then Lina smashed her fist into her hand. "Right! Let's go!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, fairly positive."

"But it's a hole in the wall."

"Uh, well it doesn't look that bad Lina..."

"Shut up jellyfish for brains!" smack

"Oww..."

"Will you two stop already? You're acting like children."

"Oh, and you never did."

The group was standing atop a ridge looking over a small valley beneath a towering range of mountains. It was very small, but Filia had led them here saying that this was the place they needed to go. Of course, there was no way to tell that this small town housed a very powerful gateway to the center of the Ryuzoku kingdom buried deep in the snowy mountains,  
>hidden to all who didn't know it existed.<p>

Filia led them down the hill into the town, which was empty except for the occasional bird flying by. They looked around nervously, but followed her as she led them to through the winding streets, until they got to an alleyway... At the end of the alleyway, a huge golden rimmed frame stood... it looked to the untrained eye just an elaborate decoration that was pointless... but they knew better.

As Filia approached it, Lina glanced at Xelloss, to see him very pale and nervous. "So much energy.." He whispered softly so that no one but himself, and Lina's trained hearing could hear it.

Filia was reaching up to the wall, and muttering a certain phrase, and before them suddenly a ripple of light exploded from the lattice, and formed a shimmering portal before them. Gourry had to reach up and grab Xelloss as he nearly collapsed, white as a ghost. Filia looked back worriedly. "Xelloss? Are you all right?" She knelt by him as he fell to his knees, shaking slightly. "I... don't know if I can do this..." He whispered. "There's so much... Energy..."

Filia wrapped her arms around him. "It's ok... maybe you should stay here..."

He shook his however. "No... I need to do this..."

She bit her lip worriedly, but nodded and helped him back up, and he took a steadying breath and composed himself. "You ok now?" She asked quietly. He nodded in response, and she turned back to the gate. "We should go now." And she gestured for them to step through. Lina and Gourry walked through the shimmering wall, then Xelloss, and Filia last.

They appeared on the other side, in the middle of a bustling town...  
>people with golden hair walking everywhere, and many dragons flying in the air above. They gasped, for the sight was quite something interesting and almost awe inspiring at the same time. The others seemed to glance in their direction with curiosity from time to time, but paid them no heed. They began to walk through the town, surrounded by golds.<br>Filia looked happy being home, but Xelloss fidgeted, and Lina could guess why... In the center of where those who had destroyed his home and people resided.

Of course, they couldn't have expected not to be noticed, and soon enough a squad of guards was walking down the street before them, then surrounded them almost wordlessly. The captain stepped forward, as they expected, and faced them. "You... What business do you have..." His words trailed off as his eyes fell on Xelloss who was trying to avoid his eye contact. "You!" He said walking up and standing over him,  
>towering over him, which was surprising since the ex-mazoku wasn't short to begin with. He eyed Xelloss warily, a strange look on his face. "You are ryuzoku, but... like none I've seen before..."<p>

Xelloss tried to smile, but just then one of the guards came up and whispered in his ear, and the captain stood up straighter, glaring at him with hatred. "Then again..." He hissed. "You all are under arrest and will come with me to the court." He gestured, and suddenly the guards were tightening around them, and Filia watched in horror as one of the guards hit Xelloss across the head, and he slipped down towards the ground in unconsciousness, but was caught and flung over the shoulders of the guards before he hit the ground.

"Wait!" Filia cried out as she was restrained herself. "We came here to talk!"

"So you'll get your chance." The captain said tartly, then began escorting them into the court without another word.

Lina managed to whisper into Filia's ear. "Don't worry, I'm sure things will work out. If not, you've got us to blast our way out." Filia wasn't very reassured.

They were brought into the main hall, and then led into the council chamber waiting hall while the captain talked to one guard, before opening the doors and going in, then returning and leading them in. They found themselves in a large meeting chamber where a great deal of elders sat gathered at a main table, and around in the coliseum style room sat other golds. In the center, the one who they assumed to be the leader sat watching them with a sour expression. "What is this all about now that it's so important to interrupt our meeting?"

Absolute silence filled the room as the guard carrying Xelloss dumped him unceremoniously on the floor in front of them, still unconscious.  
>They all stared silently, looks of shock and horror on their faces for a long time, before finally the elder spoke up. "What do you mean by bringing this... THING here?"<p>

The captain stepped forward, bowing before him. "Sir, we found these coming through the portal in the town square. Since... Some are of importance, we figured you would like to look into it."

The elder stood slowly, eyes locked on the form of Xelloss sprawled on the ground. "That... It is not mazoku anymore..." His eyes looked to Filia and the others sharply. "What is the meaning of this?"

Filia tried to step forward, but was restrained. She instead took a breath and spoke up. "Ano, gomen sir, but we came here to make a plea and speak before the council intentionally. We knew how you would react,  
>and still we chose to come here on behalf of both of us to plead that you stop trying to kill both of us..."<p>

The elder frowned. "I have made no orders to kill you, Filia Il Copt.  
>The orders given to the representatives were to find and eliminate the remaining ancient dragon that was in your care."<p>

She swallowed. "Yes... and in the process, your 'representatives'  
>brutally ruined my home and business, then proceeded to attempt to kill me while searching for the ancient to whom I refuse to release to you,<br>in addition..." Her eyes strayed to Xelloss. "We came her to beg your forgiveness on his part."

The elder blinked. "Forgive THAT? For what he did to our people? You surely joke."

Filia swallowed. "No sir, I do not. You see..." Sadness crept into her eyes. "He is also an ancient dragon. He was put into a similar position as the ex-mazoku/ancient you seek, and had no memory of his previous life as a mazoku. He had no control of himself, and as now being back to his normal self, he is not the person whom you knew before."

The council muttered among themselves warily, and stared hard at them.  
>"You mean to say..." One council member spoke up. "That he's not mazoku anymore, and you want us to just push all his deeds away? Just cause he doesn't remember it or something?"<p>

Filia could feel the hostility there, and swallowed her nervousness.  
>"No, I'm saying that you should stop hunting his kind... what happened between them and us years ago should be over, since you've virtually eliminated their entire race."<p>

The elder slammed his hands down on the table. "I am well aware of our actions towards the ancients years ago, and this does not influence my recognition of this individual to be the one who murdered our people during the Kouma War."

"But..." Filia tried to cry out. "It was revenge for what we did to his..."

"ENOUGH!" The elder roared. "Take them both and lock them up in the dungeons, leave the two humans here for questioning, the prisoners will be executed tomorrow for their treachery."

Filia screamed out in anger and terror, and reached over towards Xelloss, who was groggily coming around as he was dragged to his feet and his arms pinned behind his back tightly. He didn't know what was happening, but realized that Filia was in danger as well as himself, and struggled against the bonds. A guard brought a hand across Filia's face,  
>smacking her hard, and Xel's anger was brought up instantly. He bellowed in rage and started to transport them off, but as he attempted, he felt himself being shoved backwards and his head hit something hard. He focused hard as his mind swirled, and Filia vanished in mid air, as well as Lina and Gourry, however the golds holding him had slapped a containment spell on him... So he alone remained behind, watching helplessly as the empty spots on the floor occupied his vision, and soothed his heart knowing they were safe...<p> 


	12. Chapter 11

**Of Demons and Dragons**

**Chapter Eleven: With Bondage and Freedom Comes a Price**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Violence, language, mature themes and torture_

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

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><p><em><em>This fic is dedicated to a dear friend who made an impact on my life by helping me write this. Sadly, she passed away mid-write which is why this fic was never finished. As tribute to her, I've posted it here unfinished for your enjoyment.<em>_

* * *

><p>Xelloss struggled to free himself from the golds who held him, despite their greater numbers. One gold, a man with short blonde hair and narrow angry eyes started punching him hard in the stomach and up into his ribs, beating him up until he was to stop struggling. "Stop moving mazoku scum!"<p>

Xelloss screamed in anger and pain and tried to avoid the punches, but the gold readied an energy ball in his hands, his hatred and anger building up for all that he has done to them in the past.

If things had been allowed to continue, then he would have died there,  
>but luckily for him, the elder stepped in quickly by raising a hand in the air. "Enough! He will be put to death, but not by your hands, and not now! It will be a proper execution!"<p>

Xelloss continued to struggle feeling all his hatred bursting out, and started to transform halfway back to his original form, but was too weak to do it all, and ended up only materializing his wings and both arms back to his normal shape. The gold who'd assaulted him bitterly let the energy ball dissipate in his hands before he grabbed Xel by the shirt glaring menacingly, taken aback somewhat by his struggle to transform.

"Jira, take him to the dungeon along with Farin. Find the gold who got away." The elder commanded sternly.

The one who'd attacked Xel, Farin, nodded crisply. "Come on, lets go."  
>He snapped to Xel, and then looked at Jira expectantly.<p>

Jira nodded and bowed before the elder, before grabbing the now bleary Xelloss' other arm. "Yes sir!"

The two then made their way through the halls towards the dungeon,  
>dragging Xelloss along helpless in their arms. When they reached the dungeon entrance, Farin opened the dungeon door for Jira to throw him in, laughing cruelly at Xelloss with glee in his eyes. Jira, however,<br>glared at Farin a bit menacingly then helped Xel to the bed, lying him down, before going back and locking the cell door to scowl at the insane gold. Farin glared back mumbling under his breath to him. "If you help him, your a traitor. Are you forgetting all he did to us?"

Jira grabbed him by the throat at that remark. "Yes, but I also remember, unlike you, what we did to his people too."

Farin was a little frightened by this, but scowled angrily none the less. "It was their fault, they kept the weapon from us."

Jira narrowed his eyes. "Most didn't know about the weapon!" He growled before stalking off. Farin was left standing there, shocked about this new bit of information, then finally stormed off on his own,  
>leaving the broken Xel who was breathing raspily on the bed, clutching his chest in pain, sure he'd broken a few ribs, tears trickling down his cheek.<p>

"Please... be safe Filia...:"

Filia, who had just vanished due to Xel's transportation, was in somewhat of a state of shock as she found herself transported outside the place where they had began. She was dazed and confused, not to mention scared. Not scared for herself...but scared for Xel. Tears welled up in her eyes as she realized what had happened and she beat her fists on the wall in frustration, pleading in a shaken voice. "Xel...  
>how could you! How could you leave me!" Tears leaked out of her eyes in streams. She fell to her knees in a bit of helpless sorrow, her fists resting on the wall, her cries suddenly only be heard by Xel in little echoes. "Why...why did you leave me...Please don't die..."<p>

Xelloss was currently lying staring blankly at the ceiling, the pain almost soothing. He was thinking if he died now, he could be saved the pain later on... However, he heard somewhere, perhaps from deep inside of him, Filia crying for him... "...don't worry..." He whispered softly to nothing. "I won't..."

Filia meanwhile had suddenly thought she'd gone dillusional now by hearing him say that. Her hands ran down the wall slowly as she rested her face in them and sobbed on her knees, wracked with grief and not knowing what to do but beg and plead, her teary face buried in her hands. "Please don't die...please don't die.."

While drifting in and out of consciousness, half on the edge of delusion, half on reality and realization, he felt her misery, but couldn't do anything about it. "I... promise I won't..."

Filia suddenly shut up then, hearing his voice again, and closed her eyes while she searched through her mind for him, trying to contact him /If you can hear me...please respond my love.. /

Xelloss felt the probe, and since his body was unconscious now, his mind floated towards her consciousness and appeared in her mind. /I'm here. /

By making such a direct connection with him, her body sunk to the ground into unconsciousness and appeared before him. She reached out for him to embrace him, tears running down her cheeks. Xelloss took her into his arms and held her tightly to him, letting her cry as tears of his own spilled. For her, it was as though the river would never be quenched.  
>Even as she spoke, glistening wet tears continued to fall and drip down from her riveting blue eyes. I..I thought they'd killed you.. /

He gently lifted her head towards his, then leaned forward ad kissed her tears gently. /Not yet /

She choked back a thickened sob. /..yet? /

He sighed quietly. /I'll try... I'll fight, but they plan on killing me. /

She pulled him tighter to her, not able to let go if her life depended upon it. /When? Did they say? I'll get to you! I'll find some way and I'll get to you! /

He shook his head. /No, only that it will be a public execution. / He gently took her cheek in his hand. /I don't want you endangering yourself. /

She fell silent from that thought, tears rapidly spilling down. /I..I can't just leave you...just let you be killed.. /

He softly whispered into her ear. /I'll think of something. I promised you that I would live. /

She looked deeply up into his eyes pleadingly, the desperation showing through, begging him...begging him not to leave her... She spoke softly,  
>barely audible:. I will come to you...I swear it...before it's too late.. /

He leaned forward and kissed her deeply. /Don't be foolish... they'll kill you then /

She closed her eyes. /I don't care...I'll do anything to save you...anything. /

He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes with his own, which were strange now, shifting from one rainbow hue to another. /Then promise me you'll stay safe and not put yourself at risk. You need to protect Val. /

Filia was quiet for a very long time, seemingly mesmerized by his eyes,  
>and in shock at his question at the same time. She continued to gaze into his perfect beautiful orbs. Val is safe right now with Amelia...I promise I'll stay safe.. /

He looked at her with his eyes, then closed them and kissed her forehead. /I trust you. /

She started trembling slightly, not wanting to betray his trust.  
>Xel...gomen nasai... / She backed up slowly.

He let her go and stood there watching her with a sad look. /Filia... /

She couldn't take it anymore and avoided his eyes, looking down at the ground sadly as more tears welled over. /Forgive me...my love...demo...I have to... /

He looked pained, but lowered his head in understanding. /Just... .  
>be... careful 

She wrung her hands together, her heart throbbing in pain at the sight of his own pain:. /D..don't worry...I swear I will...it's you who has to be careful now.. / He nodded and started to fade. She clutched her heart, then reached out for him quickly. /Oh Xel! Wait! Before you go... / She whispered softly. /I love you.. /

He smiled and kissed her hand. /And I thee. / And with that, he faded into nothingness, drifting into full unconsciousness.

She smiled faintly, the tears seemingly have subsided for now as she too began to fade. Then her smile wiped away completely as she returned back to her body, waking up with a start and touching her hand to the wall,  
>closing her eyes. "Gateway to my world...show me my beloved." The gate flashed white once then showed him, lying on the bed still unconscious and half transformed, bruised, bleeding from his mouth slightly from where he'd been punched in the face. When his unconscious image came into to view she gasped, bringing her hand up to her mouth in pain and fright at the site of his wounds and tattered body.. "I've seen enough!"<br>She managed to choke out. The gate flashed back to it's original form instantly. "Take me as close to him as possible..:" She whispered.,  
>closing her eyes and stepping into the now shimmering portal.<p>

She found herself a little ways from a guard down a long stone corridor and suddenly gasped at seeing him and hid behind a pillar. He seemed to sense some presence and turned his head warily in her direction. She stopped breathing completely and closed her eyes, her forehead beaded lightly with sweat of nervousness. The guard frowned slightly. "Who's there?" Filia made herself completely quiet, scrunching herself up to the pillar as much as possible to avoid him from detecting her. The guard frowned more, knowing he heard something, and started towards her looking around warily. She grabbed the front of her cloak, wringing it in her hands nervously and closed her eyes tight as if that would make her unseen. The guard came closer and passed by her, not seeing her at first, and continued on looking. She opened her eyes, afraid to breath still, and slid her way around to the other side of the pillar before the guard turned back.

While his back was still turned to her, she ran to another pillar on the other side of what appeared to be Xel's door. The guard frowned yet again seeing nothing, and walked back towards his post Her face started turning colors as she hadn't let her breath out yet, thinking over in her mind how she was going to distract the guard to get by. Meanwhile,  
>the guard sighed and began to mutter to himself about how wrong something was, and how the golds have become corrupt in the past years.<br>This spurred a small spark of hope in her as she got an idea. /Lets see...oh! I got it, I knew this thing would come in handy for something!  
> She grabbed the pink ribbon from her tail and cautiously peered over at the guard, unable to hear anything but her own thoughts at the moment. Lucky for her, the guard was staring off into the distance, not noticing her, so she took a small swift breath and stepped up behind him loosening the ribbon on her tail, then quickly threw it over his throat,  
>pulling only slightly, and whispered in his ear. "Move and I tug.." The guard gasped, but did as she said, freezing and not moving. She spoke in a voice with tell tale signs of desperation and sadness. "Where is the one you keep known as Xelloss?"<p>

The guard gestured with his head slightly behind him. "In that cell."

She looked towards the cell, then thought a moment...there was no way to get him out of this place now...it could be crawling with guards for all she knew, he was way too weak to teleport and she was getting to that point as well. She sighed heavily as if she were a lost child on the verge of more tears.

The guard seemed to sense her fear and hopelessness, and glanced back at her hesitantly, thinking this might be the chance to do something right.  
>"I'll help you, if you want."<p>

Her eyes widened at that, her voice a little startled. "Wh..what did you say?"

He spoke softer. "I'll help."

She felt a bit hesitant at first, thinking it could be a trick, but seeing as how she really had no other options, she took her ribbon from his throat and tied it as a sash around her waist looking down at the ground, preparing herself to be hurt if it was a trick. The guard sighed slightly in relief as the ribbon left his neck, and glanced back at her,  
>pitying her. Filia was a little surprised that it wasn't a trick and looked up to his face in curiosity and such great gratitude. The guard put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry for what's happened... it's wrong, and I'm the only one who seems to see that..."<p>

She bit her lip, her large blue eyes watering, as she nodded silently and slowly. "Thank...you..."

He smiled gently and glanced around, then backed up to the cell door. "I don't have keys though..."

Filia clasped her hands together tightly and wrung them nervously. "Do you know of a way I could get him and myself safely out of here?"

He looked nervous. "No... not in his condition... there's no way out of the palace from below here..."

She cringed and paled. "What can we do then?"

The guard shook his head. "I'm not sure..."

Suddenly the sound of another coming down the stairs could be heard loudly in the still stony silence of the dungeon. Filia gasped and hid behind the pillar behind the guard again as the other guard walked up and stood next to him completely oblivious of her. "Hey, I'm supposed to be on duty with you... You know, that Farin is really pissing me off,  
>Jira..."<p>

Jira nodded. "Yeah, you feel that way as well?" He positioned himself so that he was hiding Filia carefully behind him.

"Feh..." the guard said looking pissed as he leaned against the pillar that she was hiding behind. "I mean, I've heard stuff about the other race, the ancients, and never really believed the stories about how ruthless and dangerous they were. The one we heard up there makes more sense."

Jira nodded slightly, an idea forming in his mind. "So you think that this whole ordeal is wrong?"

The man nodded. "Yeah, sure as hell do."

Jira glanced back and saw Filia nod slightly, and then smiled and clapped a hand to the other's shoulder. "I'm glad you feel that way because..." He moved aside to reveal Filia hiding there. "I plan on helping them."

The other guard blinked once at Filia, then grinned. "Yosh! I'll help you out then."

"Are you sure about this? We could both get fired, or killed."

"To hell with that, they've got someone in there who's the last of his kind, and they're gonna kill him for old stuff that's thousands of years ago. I say screw em."

Jira grinned and nodded. "Right... so... Uh, any ideas how we can do this?"

They all sweatdropped.

"How about this...tomorrow when they unlock this door to take him to the public execution..." He looked around and lowered his voice. "One of us can pretend to be him...they usually dress the criminals in long brown robes with cowls...and we could somehow sneak him out of town square." He shrugged. "Best I have...you guys know of anything else?"

Jira frowned slightly. "But with him it may be different... they'll want to show what he is..."

The other guard frowned as well. "True.." He closed his eyes. "Damn." He cupped his hands under his chin in thought. "Well I did have a talk with some of the guys back there and some of them agree that this is wrong too..." he paused. "...maybe if we got enough help we could rally up a fight or some sort of distraction...damn...then they'd always be after him and the girl..."

Jira nodded. "But what if we all supported him and refused to let them open the door for the execution, or something. they couldn't ignore us."

The other frowned. "Hai...but we don't have the keys, and there's more of them then there is of us.."

"Yeah, but if we get their attention ... hmmm...or we could do it at the execution... tell the truth..."

"Hai...that could work...the only options I see is either that or fake their deaths...right now there out searching for the girl..."

"Yes... we could try to sneak them out then now... my wife would feel the same as I, we could hide them."

The guard smiled. "Great idea...but they'll know something's up if the girl just disappears out of no where.."

"Yes but they don't know she's here now do they?"

"Nope."

He nodded. "Then that's our best bet... I'm not high enough to transport, are you?"

Frowning, he shook his head. "No...I'm not either."

Jira sighed in resignation. "Are you miss?"

Filia nodded. "Hai."

"For three?"

She frowned at that. "I don't think so. I don't know...never tried it."

Jira sighed. "We'll have to sneak out then..."Filia frowned nervously as he continued shaking his head. "No other option, we'll have to risk it. Maybe you can get some others to help distract the ones we need to."

"Maybe."

Jira nodded. "Then you go and distract the others, and find those who can help us distract them while we get him out."

The guard grinned. "Good idea...but wait, you don't got the key and neither do I!"

Jira shrugged. "We'll use magic I guess."

He shook his head. "That's no good, you'll get caught."

Filia frowned as well. "True.."

Jira glanced at the guard. "You have a better idea?"

The guard was silent a moment in thought. "Actually I might..."

Filia raised an eyebrow. "Nani?"

"First of all, the counsel I don't think will listen to us anymore,  
>their already dead set on killing these two. Second of all, we could first fake Filia's death, that would just make things easier if people weren't looking all over for her anymore...then third, the ancient's door will be unlocked to give him his meals too." They both nodded listening raptly to his idea. "We could then hide the girl at your place of course while everyone believes her dead, then bust the other out when the servant comes to give him his meal, what do you say?"<p>

Jira nodded. "Sounds good."

"We could say he escaped...then we could fake his death too..."

Jira glanced at Filia. "What do you say miss?"

Filia nodded in agreement. "Yes."

Jira nodded brusquely. "Good... then how do we go about this? One has to stand guard here... "

"I could stand guard if you want while you take Filia to your home, then return with a piece of her clothes bloodied and tell the counsel she was killed?"

Jira nodded in agreement. "That might work..." He glanced over at Filia. "Shall we?"

She nodded reaching out with sad eyes and touching the door which Xel lay on the other side of softly. "Hai, let's go..."

Jira carefully led the way through the dungeons with Filia following close behind timidly, hoping that all would work out. Jira carefully walked up the stairs checking for guards that might be near, and Filia carefully fell back and walked behind him, her hands trembling clasped together in front of her. He gently put a reassuring hand on her shoulder for comfort, then motioned for her to wait there as he inspected the area. She smiled faintly and did what she was told as he explored, then, satisfied the coast is clear, led her behind him walking as if on official business. She followed him as expected, head bowed low to hide her nervousness as he then took her wrist, making it look like she's a prisoner and murmured for her to keep her head down so they wouldn't recognize her. She nodded and lowered her head further, trying to look like a helpless prisoner and succeeding well. He walked into the main hallway firmly forward with a no-nonsense look while she drooped her shoulders, her long golden hair covering her face and eyes from view.

They finally made it out into the main courtyard and headed for the exit. Filia walked briskly after him glancing around with her eyes but not being able to see much, so she continued to look at the ground as if she has a broken spirit. They managed to make it outside without any incidents, and they turned into town through some streets and alleys.

Filia sighed a breath of relief and whispered barely audible to him.  
>"Are we out of harm yet?"<p>

He whispered tersely back. "Only when we get to my home will that be so."

She nodded, and kept her head lowered and her shoulders slumped the whole time walking after him as they headed there and finally arrived at a small house. He opened the door and went in quickly shutting it behind him. "Dear? You home?"

From the kitchen, a female voice sounded. "Yes. back here." Filia glanced up nervously at him, but got a reassuming look. "I'm making dinner."

Jira nodded to Filia and led her back into the house. "This way..."

Filia looked around and smiled up at him with thanks. "I just can't thank you enough for helping us.."

He smiled back at her. "It's not a problem miss... You have nothing to worry about."


	13. Chapter 12

**Of Demons and Dragons**

**Chapter Twelve: Smelly is Worth It**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Violence, language, mature themes and torture_

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

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><p><em><em>This fic is dedicated to a dear friend who made an impact on my life by helping me write this. Sadly, she passed away mid-write which is why this fic was never finished. As tribute to her, I've posted it here unfinished for your enjoyment.<em>_

* * *

><p>Jira walked into the kitchen. "Dear, we have a guest."<p>

The woman turned at the sound of his voice, and her face got very pale at the sight of Filia standing beside him. "Dear god..."

Filia looked around nervously, her hands clasped in front of her meekly,  
>watching the woman with wide hopeful eyes, slightly creased in worry at her reaction.<p>

Jira sighed softly. "Dear... you said that you didn't like how they were treating them... now's our chance to set things right."

Filia looked at the woman, her eyes pleading softly. "I know it's a lot to ask of you...demo...we really need your help..."

The woman looked a bit pale, but slowly nodded. "Yes... yes of course.." She smiled at Filia, then offered her a chair at the table.  
>"Please sit, you must be exhausted, you look terrible my dear."<p>

Filia sighed taking the chair in relief. "Oh thank you so much.."

Jira sat down at the table, taking some of his heavier armor off.  
>"So... the plan is to go back and somehow get him out, though I'm not sure how yet."<p>

Filia took a sip of her tea that was whipped out of who knows where.  
>"Well the other guard said that his door will be open when they go to serve him his meals.. "<p>

Jira nodded. "Yes... so somehow we have to get him out then."

Filia thought a moment. "I have an idea!" They both looked at her. "If I can borrow an apron and a wig or something, I can be the maid who brings him his meal and you the guard who accompanies me!"

Jira grinned wide and chuckled. "Yeah, that would work!"

"I happen to be an ex-dramatic so this should be easy." His wife chipped in.

"Great!" Filia smiled taking another sip of her tea calmly now that they had a plan. "I can't wait to get him out of there...when we do I'll repay the two of you for helping us so much."

Jira shook his head and smirked. "No need dear. we want to help."

"Demo...your both risking your lives! I want to repay you.. ."

"You don't need to, we're just doing what's right."

Filia smiled gratefully at him. "Thank you..."

"Ok dear, let's get you suited up." The woman said with a smile. She took Filia's hand and led her upstairs closing the door to the room they went in. "Let's see..."

Filia thought of something then. "Oh...your husband will need this to report back to the council.." She ripped a part of her dress off and held it out to the woman. "Ano...I need a small wound or somehow get blood on this..."

The woman looked at her worriedly, but handed her a needle. "Will this do?"

She bit her lip. "I'm afraid I need something bigger..." She cringed at the thought.

She frowned slightly. "Are you sure?...

She paled considerably. "Well there really is no other way to convince them of my death."

She bit her lip. "Demo... there's got to be... an easier way..."

"Have any suggestions?"

She looked thoughtful, then smiled suddenly. "Yes actually..." She looked around, then grabbed an empty perfume bottle and washed it out,  
>then handed it to her. "Put one drop of blood in here, and we'll replicate it."<p>

Filia stared at it. "Replicate?" Her eyes widened. "How?" She took the needle and did as asked, handing the bottle back to her.

She smiled and murmured a word and the bottle began to glow, then the blood began to copy itself again and again. "Being an actor has it's plus sides...how to make blood..."

Filia giggled lightly. "Wow..."

The woman nodded at the now full bottle. "There we go." Filia held out the piece of material to her, and the woman took it, spread it down and began to sprinkle blood over it. Filia paled slightly at that, but stayed quiet. However, she noticed and put a hand on Filia's shoulder.  
>"Are you ok?"<p>

"Y..yes, I just... don't like seeing blood."

The woman nodded. "I understand."

Smiling faintly, Filia nodded. "Thanks."

The woman nodded, then glanced down at her job appraisingly. "What do you think, convincing?"

Paling again, Filia nodded. "H...hai."

The woman nodded, then put the cloth in a bag so it wouldn't get everywhere, washed her hands, then nodded to a chair in front of the dresser. "Now then, dress in this." She handed Filia some clothes to change into.

Filia did as asked, and began to change. "What is it?"

"A maid's outfit... it's the court outfit type, so you'll fit right in."

She smiled. "Great..." She finished dressing, and modeled it off, her tail poking through slightly. "What do you think?"

She looked her up and down, straightening something here and there, and smiling. "Great. You look good enough, just hide that tail. Sit down here and we'll do your makeup." She smiled and sat down in front of the mirror as asked. The woman nodded and began to pull her hair up and back into a bun. Filia looked into the mirror in front of her, then clasped her hands together in her lap and looked down at them, a million thoughts going through her mind at once as the woman whistled cheerily while she worked. "You care for him don't you?"

Filia blushed suddenly, startled by the question, and looked down,  
>making her force her head back up. "Yes... A lot."<p>

She smiled and then nodded. "Good... that's the way it should be."

Filia smiled faintly. "You think so?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yes I know so. No matter what, you shouldn't let anything stand between love."

She blushed again. "It's that obvious?"

She smiled wider. "Dear, you have the look of one who's desperate."

She giggled slightly. "I suppose I do..."

"He must be something for you to care so much for him."

"He is...he's innocent and sweet really...like an angel."

"Ahh one of those..." She finished with the hair, and pulled out a dark gold wig about chin length and put it on her head. Filia took one look in the mirror and made a face. The woman giggled at that. "You're not supposed to look pretty dear."

She grinned lopsidedly. "Yup, this'll work perfect! I doubt Xel will even recognize me..."

The woman smiled with pride. "That's the point. "She then turned Filia around and began to apply the make up while Filia snickered softly to herself, trying to stay still. It took a while, but finally she finished, and Filia appeared to look about the age of 40 or so, complete with wrinkles and fade lines.

Filia turned and looked in the mirror, and nearly gagged. "Gods...I'm ugly!"

The woman hid a smile at the young lady's appraisal. "Well, they won't recognize you.

Filia stuck her tongue out at her reflection. "That's for sure..."

The lady smiled and shook her head, then headed for the door. "Come now." Filia followed her still a bit taken aback by her skills. They entered the kitchen and the woman smiled proudly. "Welllllll here we are dear."

Filia grinned and looked to the guard who was gaping. "What do you think, convincing?"

He sweatdropped. "Gods... they won't recognize her that's for sure..."  
>He shook his head, once again amazed by his wife's talents as she handed him the bloody rag. "Well... I guess we should head back then."<p>

Filia nodded in agreement. "I'm ready if you are..."

"I hope we're not forgetting anything..."

"I can't think of anything..." The wife mused.

He sighed. "Lets just hope this is enough..."

They both silently began to walk back through the town, as the woman watched them go, praying that everything was all right... Filia followed Jira quietly, almost calmly as they made their way through the gates and into the palace. He then took her aside, and pointed in the direction of the kitchen. "Mel should still be standing guard there...  
>I have to ... deliver the package to the council. You go and pick up the food and take it to him, you remember how to get down there?" She nodded, remembering vaguely the way. "Good, then good luck to you..."<br>He squeezed her shoulder, and she threw a grateful glance at him then headed off to the kitchen as instructed while he headed off to the council chambers.

She entered the kitchen, and the head cook looked idly up at her as the chefs went about their business. "You new?" He snapped at her.

She swallowed, but lowered her voice to become thick and grainy. "Yes sir, I'm here for the prisoner's food."

The chef scowled. "I didn't hear anything about this... When did you arrive her?"

She thought quickly. "Just this morning sir, Jira instructed me to come here to take his meals."

The cook snorted angrily, but pointed at a bowl of gray cold gruel on the counter. "There, go take it and get out of my sight on the double good for nothing scullery wench." He snapped as he went back to his work irritated.

She bit her lip, but bowed her head submissively and took the food,  
>making a face as she left at the slop that was supposed to feed him...<br>She wanted to smack the good for nothing chef across the head, but she restrained herself for the better as she made her way down the stone corridor towards the dungeons. Even among high class systems like the gold society, there were still undesirables...

She finally made her way down, after passing a few guards who gave her no second glance. She arrived in the lower dungeons, and walked down the corridor, her heart pounding inside her like a drum as she neared his cell... luckily, the other guard, Mel, was still there, and he glanced at her as she approached, and she saw surprise on his face, and worry.  
>"Is it that time already?" He asked as she stopped before him.<p>

She smiled to herself, knowing what he was thinking. "It's me Mel.." She said quietly. "Filia."

The guard blinked, then did a double take in astonishment. "Y...You...?"

She hid a smile. "Yes, Jira is off taking care of the other business...  
>How are we going to sneak him out now..." She said quietly, glancing around. "Do you have an idea?"<p>

He seemed to have recovered a bit from his ultimate shock, and blinked.  
>"Well.. I've been thinking a bit..." He glanced back to the cell and the locks heavily bolting it shut. "There's two ways we can do this... Out by the main door, or out by another way..."<p>

She frowned. "What other way is there?"

He looked nervous. "Well... It's not pleasant, that's for sure..." He looked embarrassed. "The sewage system... They won't look for you there."

She paled in disgust, but swallowed hard. "I... yeah... that would..  
>probably be easier..."<p>

"And with him in the condition he is, you want to be able to take your time." He said quietly. "I was there when they caught him, and he didn't look too well I'm afraid."

She paled at that dramatically, her fear rising with her heart in her throat. "We... have to do the easiest then..." She murmured. "Would the sewage be easier than out the front?"

"Well, it would be less risky, we wouldn't have to disguise him or try to hide his injuries, but then it might be harder on him, though you could take your time."

She nodded slowly. "That sounds like our best bet... where is the way?"

He pointed down the corridor more. "It's down that way, we could easily get you there from here."

She nodded. "So be it..."

He nodded, then glanced back at the door. "Very well... Then we go now?" She nodded and he bent down and removed a set of small pins to pick the lock with, and began to fiddle with the locks quietly, while Filia kept watch. It took a long time, but after about twenty minutes of fiddling, they managed to unlock the heavily bolted doors' many wards and locks. Filia took a deep breath, then took the food for good measure, and walked into the cell as Mel opened it for her.

Filia held her breath trying to prepare herself for the sight before her as she walked into the dark and dreary dungeon cell. She peered forward trying to see in the darkness, her heart racing like a drum. "I can't see... have you a torch?"

He glanced about, then pulled one off of the wall nearby. "Here."

She nodded in thanks, taking it, her voice barely above a whisper.  
>"Thanks." She then turned and put the torch in the cell, and peered in through the darkness... She paled as she caught her first glimpse of him, lying on his bunk still in halfling form, wheezing slightly with one clawed arm draped over his chest as he tried to breath through the broken ribs he had. Tears pooled up in her eyes almost immediately as she stepped forward to him, seeing that he was obviously asleep. Mel stayed ever watchful at the entrance, keeping an eye out as she knelt beside his bunk, placing the torch down with the food so she could take his large hand in her own slender human ones. She rubbed his hand gently, and spoke in barely above a whisper. "Xel..." He stirred slightly, but didn't wake, his face pale and drawn in the flickering torchlight. She tried again, as she wished she could use a healing spell to ease his pain, but didn't dare on the chance of being detected from above. "Xel... wake up... please?" This time, he made a slight moan and his eyelids flickered slightly, then slid open slowly, blinking before focusing on her face above him. Filia could feel her heart splitting as she tried to hold back the tears welling up at seeing him in such a horrid state.<p>

He blinked slightly, then tried faintly to push himself to a sitting position, though he was in no condition to do so. "... Gomen... I..."

She quickly put her hands up and gently restrained him, urging him to lay back down. "No, no you don't have to sit up so fast."

He leaned back with a soft defeated sigh, and she could see him fighting a groan. "Domo..." She couldn't peel her eyes away from him for a second, though they drifted down to his bruised chest where some blood could be seen dried there, a telltale sign that some of his ribs were broken by the way he was wheezing. She closed her eyes tightly as they began to water, glistening in the faint torchlight and sparkling on her eyelashes. He slowly opened his eyes again after a breather, looking tired and worn. "What... do you need... miss...?"

Filia spoke softly, her eyes barely able to see through her tears that lined them. "How could you..." She choked back a sob.

His expression turned to hurt and pain, and his eyes flickered to the side in slight anger and grief. "...gomen..."

She fought back the urge to hold him... it was overwhelming her entirely, but she knew she could only hurt him worse if she did. "Never,  
>never, phase me away like that again... Never!"<p>

He blinked in astonishment as his eyes returned to her face, confusion and questioning in them. "...what?"

Tears flowed over her cheeks as she couldn't hold them back any longer,  
>and she ripped her wig off, a few light golden strands falling over her eyes as she did so. "It's me dummy!" She smiled faintly. "Did you really think I wouldn't come after you?"<p>

Xelloss stared at her blankly, not really recognizing her through the pain he was feeling, and not quite catching it quick enough.  
>"...wh..what..?"<p>

"It's me!" She glanced around nervously, and lowered her voice. "Filia!"

Now his eyes widened suddenly, shock and disbelief on his face, and his mouth half open in astonishment. She wiped a tear away, smearing some of the makeup off of her cheek on one side. Xelloss blinked, then a strange smile flickered across his face. "...you..." He chuckled then,  
>lightly, and wincing at the effort it took.<p>

She sat down beside him on the bench, gently propping an arm around his shoulders. "Be careful... don't speak if it hurts."

He nodded weakly, then leaned his head against her lap, a small tear sliding down his cheek. "...baka..." Filia silently, while crying herself, wiped the tear from his cheek gently. Xelloss suddenly felt tired, and closed his eyes slightly. "...you... came back for me.."

She gently kissed his cheek softly. "Of course, I couldn't just leave you." He smiled slightly up at her, and she returned it. "My fate is with you. Even if it's death.."

He shook his head ever so slightly. "Death is not an option."

"Whatever it takes to be with you." She said firmly, not taking any argument over that at all. "We should... be going. They could find us when they discover I'm gone longer than usual."

He nodded slightly. "But...how?"

She paled then, a sick feeling entering her stomach. "The...sewage...  
>that way we can take our time, no one will look for us there."<p>

He paled as well. "Ho boy...this will be interesting..."

She nodded. "Hai... yuck..."

He tried to smile, despite the thought of that passing his mind. "Good thing Val isn't here..."

Filia felt her heart quicken a bit more at the mention of Val, but she managed to smile. "Yeah... I don't think he'd like the sewer much."

Xel winced slightly, coughing a bit, some blood coming to his lips.  
>"Nope... smells like his diapers..."<p>

She giggled slightly. "True, true... I hope Amelia is handling him all right..."

He grinned slightly. "She will... I know he's safe with Miss Justice Freak...though...hope he doesn't pick up any habits..." Sweatdrops.

"It wasn't Val I was worried about. "Filia joked. "I was thinking more along the lines of poor Amelia."

He chuckled lightly, but stopped as pain shot through him. "Yeah..."

She frowned at his pain and stood up then. "We should go... the faster we get out, the faster I can heal you."

"Hai..."

She stood at that and offered both her hands out to him with an extremely worried look on her face while speaking softly. "Can you stand?"

He slowly reached his clawed hands out to her and closed his eyes as he braced himself against the pain and slowly pulled himself to a sitting position. She paled more at seeing him in this position, cringing at his every move that caused pain to him. Xelloss swallowed his nausea from the movement, and put one arm across his chest to support his ribs. "...  
>lets...go..." He wheezed lightly.<p>

She tried her best not to let any tears splash down anymore, and with one hand returned the wig to her head, pushing the loose strands of golden hair back up on top her head, then put a hand beneath his shoulders gently to help him stand. He was wheezing hard, leaning on her for support as he fought the waves of dizziness and the dancing black spots in front of his vision. She gently held him up with all her strength, and led him out the cell door to where Mel waited patiently.


	14. Chapter 13

**Of Demons and Dragons**

**Chapter Thirteen: Crawl Through the Depths of Hell**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Violence, language, mature themes and torture_

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

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><p><em><em>This fic is dedicated to a dear friend who made an impact on my life by helping me write this. Sadly, she passed away mid-write which is why this fic was never finished. As tribute to her, I've posted it here unfinished for your enjoyment.<em>_

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><p>Mel glanced once at Xel's condition, and was sickened by it. He offered a hand to him. "Here, let me."<p>

Filia glanced down the corridor while she held Xel up. "Which way?"

Mel pointed in the opposite direction to the entrance. "That way."

They slowly made their way down the passage, occasionally pausing so Xel could catch his breath, as he continued to go with them, though his head was bowed in concentration as he focused on walking. Filia lowered her gaze as she caught a glimpse here and there of Xel's strained face,  
>though it shot her heart with pain every time having to watch him suffer. She leaned down and gently whispered to him. "Are you holding up all right?"<p>

He managed to nod, throwing her a slow smile. "I'll live."

She lowered her voice speaking to no one but herself. "You'd better..."

Mel stopped then as they drew to a halt, before a small platform, where only water, rather mucky water, was before them in a canal. "Here we are..." He said quietly. "This is your way out."

Filia looked at the murky scenery before her, then smiled at their guide. "Thank you so much... you've risked much for helping us..."

Mel looked less than relieved however, looking at Xel with a concerned glance. "One thing though to warn you about... since this is far down, you'll have to go up a few waterfalls and the like to find the city streets, and I don't know how you'll get there... it's a maze..."

Filia paled at his words, a sinking feeling in her stomach as she glanced at Xel, knowing that he was too weak to be climbing up.

Xelloss shook his head at her however. "We'll make it."

However, the uncertainty and the doubt was still present in her eyes as she assessed Xel's physical capability's in her head, knowing that now he couldn't possibly have a good chance of climbing. She sighed deeply.

Looking worried, the guard glanced back. "You'll have to hurry, they're bound to find out after a while where you've gone..."

She nodded wordlessly and looked down into the watery path, her face still pale, and spoke softly. "Thank you again..."

He gently helped Xel over to the water and let him kneel down to slide in. Filia sighed nervously, and knelt beside him to slide in as well.  
>Xelloss slid down breathing harshly into the cold water shivering a bit,<br>as it came up to his chest. She quickly slid in after him, nervous as hell for his condition and the coldness. Suddenly the cold water hit her and she shivered as well. "Yeesh!" Xelloss smiled lightly, almost teasingly at her, but didn't have much more energy to do much more. She smiled slightly at him. "Cold, ne?"

Mel glanced around. "You'll have to go up I suppose... find the entrance, or the exit..."

Filia looked back up to Mel and smiled. "Thanks...we can manage from here then."

Mel looked worried, but nodded. "May Ceipheed protect you both..." he then quickly walked back to his post so no one would notice, and prepared to make it look like an escape attempt.

Xel shivered, but glanced about in the water at the grates. "Which way then..."

She wrapped a protective arm around him and looked around with a shiver.  
>"Anou...that way..." She pointed to a wall of grates. "It could lead up eventually if we follow the mainstream..." She trembled.<p>

He nodded and waded through the water, the liquid holding him up and helping him breathe easier, but making it harder to walk as he approached the grates. She approached them as well, finding a few floating grates in her path, she struggled with them to get them out of the way. "Look, the water is barely flowing a certain way...it has to lead to some sort of opening somewhere."

He nodded and approached the grate, then took his strong clawed arms and tried to budge them, ignoring the pain in his chest. "... down perhaps... or up..."

Filia glanced over at him, not being able to help but admire his half transformed self in all his beauty. "How are you feeling?" She went to his side and helped him clear away the grate.

He managed to smile faintly and get a few pipes out of the wall, as the gravel crumbled surrounding it, enough for them to squeeze through. "...  
>I'll manage, don't worry about me."<p>

She rolled her eyes a little mockingly. "Yeah right, not worry about you? That'll be the day.." She kissed his cheek and squeezed through the opening just barely.

He smiled gently at her, then pulled himself through after her, barely fitting with his added bulk. She crawled through, and surfaced at something she didn't quite expect to be at yet, and paled. Xel struggled, but managed to pull himself through and surfaced next to her,  
>coughing. She tried to hide her nervousness but couldn't as the water up to her knees rushed in a very quick fashion where the sound of a large fall was nearby. Xel pushed himself to his feet slowly, leaning on the wall for support, and she made her way to him and helped him stand up.<br>He smiled in gratitude, but looked ahead not wanting to rely on her. She sighed knowing he was stubborn. "All right then, lets get going...they're bound to know your missing by now..."

He glanced back, almost fearfully. "So soon? I doubt it..." He suddenly coughed harshly, some blood coming to his lips.

Her eyes widened and her face paled nervously. "I wonder if we're in a safe range to use magic..."

However, he shook his head as he stopped coughing. "No...we're... still under the palace..."

She brought her hand to her face unknowingly, and watched him, with what seems like frightened eyes. He slowly began to wade forward towards the rushing sound. "We...can't waste time."

She gasped slightly at his movement. "Slow down though!" She waded after him. "It could be a pretty big..." She trailed off as the sound got louder.

He waited for her, glancing back slightly. "Does it make a difference...?"

A strange expression crosses her face as she's almost hurt by his words,  
>trying to hide the expression. "It does to me..." She whispered softly.<br>"If you don't survive I..." She trailed off and caught up to him, trying to ignore the constant constricting in her chest.

He glanced back looking hurt after hearing her words. "No, that's not what I meant..." He offered a long clawed hand to her with kind eyes. "I meant, be the waterfall big or small, we must go on."

She took his hand gently, tears of hope welling in her pure blue eyes, a faint smile crossing her lips. "True..."

He smiled and leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers gently. She leaned into the kiss and returned it passionately, her every being tingling with excitement. He held her gently, trying not to hurt her with his sharp claws as he let her feel his love for her well out. In response, she wrapped an arm around his waist, her other hand holding his claw like a hand in hers, careful not to be hurt and letting herself drown in his affection, showing him her own love for him as well. Of course, good things can't be kept long in bliss, and another coughing fit hit him, and he broke away quickly, clutching his chest in pain.  
>Filia looked up at him worriedly, her eyebrows turning up in a sad and frightened expression as she touched a hand tenderly to his chest,<br>wanting so badly to send waves of healing throughout him. He regained his composure, wheezing worse, but took her hand gently "...let's...go."  
>She nodded knowingly and walked onward, as he followed her until they got to yet another grate, to which on the other side of the rushing water was a waterfall of substantial proportions. He peered through the grate up at the falls, pondering the situation. Filia paled at the loud sound of rushing water, knowing it must be a fairly large fall. She started shoving the grates out of the way with struggles nonetheless.<br>Xel bent down to help her, and strangely felt something bump against his leg, and reached down with a frown to grip onto something, pulling it up.

Filia looked at him puzzled. "What is it?"

He frowned and pulled up a long rod of metal and wood, with strange bumps on it beneath the slime of being in the muck for a long time. "Not sure... some pole..." But his words sounded hesitant.

Filia frowned, not really liking the sound of his words or the sight of such a thing. "I'm not so sure..."

He picked at the slime with a claw, slight frown on his forehead. "Hmm..."

"What...what is it?" She walked closer to him reaching out for it herself.

He shook his head slightly however. "Here, let's just use it as a lever..."

"What do you mean?" She blinked uncertainly.

As demonstration, he put it by the bars and levered it to break the wall from the bars. "Like...so."

Her eyes widened, rather annoyed at herself for not thinking of it.  
>"Wow...that'll definitely work..." She smiled encouragingly at him.<p>

He smiled lightly, then pushed himself through, still holding the staff.  
>She followed him, clutching onto the bars for support as she squeezed through the opening. He gently helped her through, using the staff to lean on as she squeezed all the way through with his help. "Arigato..."<br>He merely nodded with a smile then glanced at the waterfall appraisingly. She raised her eyes to look up ahead, her skin white as a ghost. "There it is..."

He nodded and looked up at the slick incline with water pouring down. It was quite wide, perhaps wide enough for him to manage to use his wings... Eyeing the incline, she pondered something of the same thing:.  
>"Xel..." She spoke softly. "Can you use your wings?"<p>

He looked up appraisingly at the area. "I think so... there's enough of a draft that it would be easier..."

She nodded hesitantly. "I think so too...but I meant are you strong enough?"

He smiled and glanced at her calmly. "Do we have a choice?"

She returned his gaze nervously. "I suppose we don't..."

He nodded faintly and turned his back to her. "Get on then..."

She paused unsure for a moment, but did what he asked, wrapping her arms around him gently, and is trying to be extremely careful not to hurt him worse. He then wrapped his long arms around her as she climbed on his back, and bent over slightly, still holding the staff and breathing harshly, and closed his eyes, then took a deep breath and spread his wings, pumping strongly with them, lifting them both up into the air,  
>the updraft helping to carry them up so he didn't have to move his wings much. Filia sighed softly in relief at the aspect of the wind current and clung to him tightly but gently, admiring his beautiful wings as they move with such grace. He strained to maintain balance as they floated up, though spots began to dance before his eyes. They slowly reached the crest of the falls, and he saw that it was flat beyond, so he glided down...but at the last moment, he lost control, plummeting back into the water dangerously near to the edge, however managed to avoid falling off.<p>

Filia gasped in fright and slight panic as they hit the water, making a small shriek. Xelloss coughed, getting some water up his nose, and went under due to the flow that pulled and tugged as it dumped over the falls with incredible speed. Without hesitation, Filia dove under after him,  
>half being pulled herself, and grabbed his arm determinedly, not wanting to lose him. He felt her arm grab his through the swirling water, and grabbed a hold, sputtering to the surface, coughing weakly and struggling to move away from the falls. She held onto him tightly, not about to let him go now after all they'd been through together, while making sure to hold him up to the surface with her as she struggled to swim against the current to safety. She could tell that he was too weak to help, as he simply held onto to her, feeling faint, though still through some miracle had managed to hold onto the staff. She struggled and coughed the water out of her lungs as she swam towards a more shallow end, holding him tightly for dear life and dragging him up out of the deep water to about ankle depth. She spoke, strained and desperate. "Speak to me...! Say something!"<p>

He managed to open his eyes, blinking blearily. "I hate water..."

Relief washed through her, and she laughed through the tears that came to her eyes as she hugged him. "You and me both."

He coughed some water out, feeling dizzy. "I swear... never going swimming...again..."

She closed her eyes laughing lightly, still holding him to her tightly in relief. "Well at least we cleared the water fall..."

He nodded faintly. "Yeah..."

She ran her hand gently down his neck and rested it on his chest lightly, feeling his heart pounding there. "Do you think it's still too soon to heal you?"

He sighed in reserved exasperation. "We're nowhere near being out... if they sense something from down here, they'll know that..."

She frowned. "I know...I was just...hoping..." Tears began to burn her eyes. "It pains me...to see you like this..."

He chuckled gently, not wincing for once, and put a hand to her cheek gently. "It's ok, I'm a big boy, I can take a little pain...besides, I suppose I'm due some of it..."

She shook her head softly and cupped her hand over his, looking into his eyes deeply. "What are you talking about?"

He smiled sadly, the stress visible on his face from the long ordeal.  
>"Well, I can' t ignore what I did those thousand years ago, Filia..."<p>

"Demo...you weren't able to do anything else at the time...it wasn't your fault...it was the Greater Beasts fault..."

In reply, he shook his head silently. "No, Filia... it wasn't..."

Tears threatened her throat as she choked out her words. "Demo...you had a choice?"

He looked away from her, as if embarrassed. "She saved my life Filia-san... she wiped my memories as a favor... but kept the want for revenge there..."

She was silent for a long time, thinking of his words, before she finally spoke softly. "Still...they slaughtered your race...it's in the past now though...all of it...you shouldn't keep blaming yourself for something so long gone..."

He looked at her for a moment, then smiled faintly. "Hai, I know...but... it's still hard. 1000 years of... training can't be unlearned easily."

She sighed and nodded slightly. "I understand...as best as I can..." He returned the smile lightly, then made a move as if to get up, winced a bit, then sat back again. She quickly got off of him so that he could move better, offering him her hand. "Ready to carry on?"

He nodded and took her hand, using the staff as well to lever himself up, though still shaky and weak. "Ha...hai."

She gripped his larger hand to her own, helping to pull him up steadily.  
>"I can't wait to get out of here.."<p>

"On that, I agree with you."

She looked around, hearing the sound of more rushing water from ahead.  
>"I don't like the sounds of things..."<p>

He sighed. "Hai, I sense a theme..."

"You and me both...but...then again..." She peered around a corner. "We could always take a detour!"

He blinked rather Gourry-like. "But where would it take us?"

To test it, she walked around the corner and found herself in a larger area where there was seemingly a dead end...but light under the water in one corner shimmered out. "It could be a long swim though...I think there's an underwater tunnel where that light is..." She shrugged slightly. "But of course it could be another dead end." He nodded faintly, but decided to walk forward to investigate. She stood there waiting for him to finish. "What do you think?"

"Yes, there's a slight draft..."

She raised a brow and went over to him. "Hai...I feel it too.."

He frowned suddenly at an idea, fingering the staff in his clawed hand.  
>"Let me try something..." She nodded, and took a step back for him. He then took the staff in both hands, stepping toward the wall, then closed his hands seeming to concentrate intensely for a moment, before two beams of light exploded from either end of the staff, and then enveloped all of it to about a foot on either end of where his hands rested.<br>Filia's eyes widened in surprise, her heart racing as she brought a hand to her chest startled in awe. Xelloss smiled slightly at that. "Aha...  
>thought so..." The beam flickered and then only one side lit up, like a long sword and he made a quick expertise movement before slicing through the wall in front of them like a hot knife through butter, making it come away in a big chunk falling to the ground revealing a passage on the opposite side.<p>

Her eyes widened and a big smile spread across her face. "You did it!  
>You really did it! Demo..." Suddenly a panicked expression crossed her face. "You used magic.."<p>

He chuckled, holding the staff as it's blade fades. "Ahhh but this is special." He smiled brightly. "I thought there was something odd about it."

"...so they won't detect it then? What on earth IS it?

He just smiled and peered at it cross-eyed. "Looks like just a piece of metal don't it, but it's ironic how the thing was down here all the time, when they searched for it so much..."

Her brow raised curiously. "What do you mean? ..." A sudden gasp came to her throat. "You don't think..."

His smile widened. "Yes indeed... this is one of the weapons of light...a staff it would seem..." He inspected it more closely.

"Wow..." She walked closer to inspect it as well, and he handed it to her as he then squeezed through the opening into the passage beyond. "I never imagined..." She took it gently and looked it over.

His voice drifted out from the corridor beyond. "I think we may have found our way out..."

"Huh? Really?" She ran up to him, trudging through the shallow water. He peered up towards what appeared to be a small incline where a slight runoff trickled down, with dry parts on the side, and the stars could be seen twinkling down at them cheerily. She struggled to peer up through the same small incline, then whistled softly. "Wow...I can't believe it...we're finally..."

Suddenly, he quickly put a finger to her lips indicating silence.  
>"Shh..." He pressed, listening intently to something.<p>

She falls silent but still couldn't help but feel a little dizzy feeling every time he touched her... She put that aside as well as she could to listen as well. Faint voices could be heard from above the light trickling of water. Filia paled and clung to Xel's arm gently, now a little afraid. He slowly crept up along the dry portion, trying to hold his wheezing breath to listen more closely. Filia waited patiently down at the bottom, clasping her hands together nervously as she watched him try to climb up the incline, though feeling nervous every second he did so...and rightly so, as his foot slipped on the damp moss and he lost his balance with a stifled gasp sliding back down, and his head hitting the pavement hard with a muffled thud, knocking him out cold.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah... I did..."

A stifled gasp exploded from Filia as she covered her hands over her mouth and rushed to his side, finding him unconscious, and quickly she checked for a pulse. She praised Ceipheed upon thankfully finding one,  
>and started to panic when she realized that others were out there, and getting suspicious.<p>

"...came from the drain..." Footsteps were heard from outside.

"Be careful! It might be rats or something!"

A head then poked in through the opening, a black dragon peering down at them through the dark. A gasp escaped from her lips again, for she'd been expecting a gold, not a black, but none the less she cowered,  
>covering Xel protectively, and wished he'd go away, wishing they wouldn't be seen.<p>

The black peered in and spotted them with his excellent vision, looking startled at seeing a bedraggled human woman crouching protectively by something else he couldn't discern. "Eh... "

"What is it?"

"Are you ok miss?" The black asked quietly, peering down at her slightly confused.

She blinked in confusion at him, thinking that for sure her face must be well known by now... She looked up at him in fear, speaking softly and timidly. "You...you won't...hurt us?"

He looked surprised at that. "Hurt you? What the...?" Confusion crossed his features.

The head of a gold suddenly poked around the corner, and spotted them.  
>"Oh my! What are you doing down there?"<p>

She blinked surprised, but hesitantly moved out of the way so that they could see Xel, and sadly looks down at him as well, as if that would explain everything.

The black blinked down in the dimness, not quite sure, but thinking odd things of the individual on the ground. The gold saw Xel, however, and gasped. "Oh my!" She threw a jab at the black. "Idiot, go help them!  
>He's hurt!"<p>

He sighed in resignation and nodded. "Yes ma'm..." He then cast a Ray Wing on them both, bringing them out of the incline and onto the flat bed area.

Filia looked up at them gratefully and sighed quite relieved, not mentioning yet just how very badly hurt Xel really was. However, the gold got an eyeful once they had landed up aboveground. "Wh...what is that?"

Tears began to well up in her eyes as she saw Xel more clearly in the light. "A...a...ancient...dragon.."

The black blinked in surprise. "A what?"

The gold looked confused. "He's ryuzoku! But...he...'s so weird."

But the black was far more observant, and spotted the bruising on Xel's chest, and glanced at his mate. "Mai, heal him eh? Don't stand gawking."

"He's...just been badly hurt is all..." She whispered out nervously,  
>raising both hands out over his chest, wanting to have done this for a very long time, and started focusing all her energy on his inner being healing him from the inside out. The black got the hint, and positioned his claws over him as well, healing his battered body from the outside in, doing a contrast to help speed the process up.<p>

The gold however was more timid. "What were you two doing down there?"

She paled, unsure of how to answer that question without seeming...suspicious, but continued her healing relentlessly. "We...we uhh...we were trying to find a way out is all, we got lost..."

That made her pale more. "You're... your not those two criminals are you... the mazoku and the traitor?" Fright crossed her face.

Filia's eyes widened at that. "You...you've got it all wrong! We aren't criminals...it wasn't fair! They kidnapped Xel and I tried to save him...he's not a mazoku and I'm not a traitor..."

The black glanced at them slightly confused. "But the council said..."

The gold stared at Xel. "But... wait you said he was ryuzoku?"

"He was Ryuzoku before he was Mazoku...it's...a long story...want to hear it?" She all the while continued to heal him, her concerned gaze grazing over his delicate and wounded features.

They both exchanged glances with each other uncertainly. "Uh..."

The gold glanced about nervously. "Yes but not here... our parents don't know we..." She blushed brightly. "...uh..."

Filia watched them both thoughtfully, then smiled knowingly. "I see..." Even through the differences they held, there was still those who disobeyed the rules like them... Golds and blacks weren't supposed to be romantically engaged.

She blushed more. "Look, we won't tell if you don't."

"Oh, of course not!"

The black smiled with relief. "Good..." He lowered his hands then.  
>"Geeze, what happened to him, he was hurt bad!"<p>

She nodded tearfully. "He was beaten very badly...almost to the point of death..." Her voice choked at that point.

Both of them looked thoroughly disgusted. "By whom?"

"By the counsel..." An angry expression of remembrance crossed her face as she continued to send white glowing waves of healing into him.

They both stared at her in shock. "The council!"

She nodded with a soft sigh, her face bitter. "We barely escaped with our lives.."

Incredulous looks passed over both their faces. "Why would they do such a thing?"

"Because...Xel...he brought up the past when the golds had slaughtered his kind and had asked why...I... I guess some of the council just don't want to hear about that...they brought up the past yet again when he was a mazoku and well...I'm positive you've heard of the Kouma War..." She sighed softly.

They both jerked back in shock. "H..hai, what about it?"

"When he was a mazoku..." She sighed not sure if she should be telling this, but knowing hiding the truth wouldn't help. "Well there was just a lot of things...mazoku's are different...they cannot feel remorse or pain or guilt...the only thing on his mind was vengeance for his own kind that had been slaughtered in complete genocide...he was the one responsible, demo he now has the feelings of guilt and remorse and is sorry..."

They both stared at him, realization slowly sinking in, and they didn't look all that sure about this ordeal now. "Uh..." The black glanced around nervously. "Look, we helped you out, but maybe we should be going now..." The gold nodded in agreement, looking quite frightened.

She sighed to herself, but nodded in understanding. "Go if you must...but do not fear us...neither me nor him...we couldn't harm a soul..." She rested her hands on his chest and leaned forward to kiss him softly, that kiss in itself a strong healing method. Which quite obviously worked, since he stirred slightly at the kiss and kissed back a bit, coming out of it.

They both watched with pity in their eyes, but skepticism still on their faces. "Look, if you really are the two the council captured, they'll be looking for you, so you'd better get out of here."

She broke the kiss softly and smiled into his closed eyes, grateful that he's still alive, even if he's a little weak. She then nodded to the two ryuzoku with gratitude. "Thank you...so much."

The two nodded, and quickly flew away as to avoid any further confrontations, leaving the two lovers by their lonesome, to recover as nature would have it, or fate, whichever that might be...

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><p><em>And thus ends this story. Sorry it's unfinished, but since it's at least 10 years old, it will never be completed. Hope you enjoyed what we had of it.<em>


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